The women’s tennis circuit has defended the court built for the WTA Finals, saying it met its “strict performance standards” after world number one Aryna Sabalenka called the conditions at the season-ending championship “another level of disrespect”.
Key points:
- The WTA Finals were only announced last month with Cancun as the host
- Wimbledon 2022 winner Elena Rybakina says court is ‘not good’
- The WTA acknowledged that “the accelerated schedule due to weather issues” was hampering construction of the venue.
At least two of the eight singles players at the event criticized Cancun’s temporary outdoor hard court, including the fact that it was not ready sooner to allow more practice time before the competition.
“Honestly, it’s another level of disrespect from the WTA towards the players, because sometimes they don’t even feel safe to walk on that court,” Sabalenka said Sunday night after beating Maria Sakkari 6-0, 6-1 in one of the first round-robin matches.
“This is not the level I expect from the WTA Finals.
“Thank you for this challenge that I am facing right now, to learn to adapt quickly to conditions. Thank you for that.
“But it’s not something I expect from such a high-level tournament.”
Sabalenka won the Australian Open in January and became world number one after finishing runner-up to Coco Gauff at the US Open in September.
Another player who was in action in Cancun, 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, said after her three-set loss to Jessica Pegula: “About the court, I don’t really want to talk, but of course it’s not good… Everything was late and (there was) no time to fix anything.”
The venue for this year’s WTA Finals was only announced last month, as part of a one-year deal with Cancun.
“We are pleased to welcome the WTA Finals to Cancun for the first time and have worked hard to build a stadium where the world’s top eight women’s tennis players and doubles teams compete,” the women’s tour said in a statement.
“The team worked diligently on an accelerated schedule despite weather challenges to ensure the stadium and field met our stringent performance standards.”
AP
