Venus Williams may be the face of a campaign to promote women’s equality in sport, but she says her trip to the conservative Muslim sheikdom of Qatar this week is all about winning matches.
“I think us players are really focused on the tennis more than anything else,” said Williams, who is in the Middle East for the WTA Tour’s season-ending event, the Sony Ericsson Championships. “I don’t think anyone else is too focused on any other outside issue. We’ve been hosted very well, and that’s pretty much it.”
Two years ago, Williams volunteered to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment as part of a program fashioned by the WTA Tour and UNESCO.
Women have fewer opportunities than men in sports and other fields in Qatar, which sent an all-male team to the Beijing Olympics this year. Saudi Arabia did the same.
Williams said on Monday that the top eight women had not arrived in Qatar primarily to change perceptions about women.
“I think every country has their way of doing things. I don’t think it’s really our job to come here and tell everyone how to do things and to change mindsets,” she said.
“We are here to play great tennis and to be a good role model and as women to be entertainment. Anything else might be a little bit beyond our reach and influence,” Williams said.
The younger Williams sister, Serena, is also a contender in Qatar. She said she had not met many women since her arrival.
“I can’t sit here and comment on exactly the hardships of the female that happens in Qatar. I’ve heard some things I should say, rather, of females that happens in the Middle East,” Serena said.
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