With a bit of Saudi topspin, tennis fans can overlook its brutal repression of women | Catherine Bennett

The WTA finals host revealed its commitment to women’s rights by jailing a female activistIf a record of sexual apartheid is not the ideal look for a nation that must still, occasionally, placate progressives, news of an extreme example – the lengthy imprisonment of Manahel al-Otaibi, a 29-year-old fitness instructor and women’s rights activist – has at least arrived too late to tarnish Saudi Arabia’s latest sporting triumph: buying up the Women’s Tennis