NEWSLETTER | CANCUN CALAMITY FOR WTA FINALS AS DJOKOVIC MASTERS PARIS
WTA Finals are wrecked by Cancun conditions as Novak Djokovic wins Paris for a 7th time
Last week should have been all about the tennis as the WTA Finals took place in Cancun while the best male players competed at the Paris Masters. However, while there were victors on the court, the tour’s habitual issue of poor scheduling once again grabbed the headlines.
In Paris, the men’s players were less than impressed with the incredibly late finishes permitted. Here’s a look at the times that play finished over the week according to Stuart Fraser of The Times:
The situation got so bad that Jannik Sinner withdrew from the event after his second round match with Mackenzie McDonald ran past 2.30am. That left him too little time to recover for the next day’s play. The scheduling of Sinner’s match was criticised by Casper Ruud and Stan Wawrinka.
But it was in Cancun where the real shambles took place.
The Mexican resort was only announced as the venue for the WTA Finals in early September, less than two months before the event was due to take place. At the time, WTA Chairman and CEO Steve Simon said the event would “provide a fantastic experience for players and fans alike, offer a fitting finale for the 2023 Hologic WTA Tour and enable us to continue building a strong future for women’s tennis.”
Unfortunately, it seemed doomed from the outset.
With such a short turnaround, the makeshift 4,000 seat stadium at the Paradisus resort was only completed the weekend before the event. The main court was only available for practice the day before play. There were also complaints of an uneven surface with unusual bounces when it was ready.
This did not impress the world no.1, Aryna Sabalenka:
"I have to say though that I am very disappointed with the WTA and the experience so far at the WTA Finals. As I said in my press conference tonight, as a player I really feel disrespected by the WTA. I think most of us do. This is not the level of organization we expect for the Finals.’
"To be honest, I don't feel safe moving on this court a lot of the time, the bounce is not consistent at all, and we weren't able to practice on this court until yesterday for the first time. It's just not acceptable to me with so much on the line and so much at stake."
Alongside the construction issues, Cancun is still in hurricane season and for some reason, the WTA decided to have an outdoor court in a location prone to showers.
Suffice to say, the weather has been so horrific during the WTA Finals that there are already amusing video montages of players struggling. This one gives you a good idea. Less amusing is the image it projects for the WTA Tour.
It’s incredibly embarrassing for the season-ending showcase to be so poorly staged. Steve Simon issued an apology to players where he said “It is not a perfect event, we understand the conditions are a challenge and the WTA accepts responsibility for that.”
However, there seems to be real rift growing between the top women’s players and the WTA Tour.
According to Matthew Futterman in The Athletic (€), 21 big names including Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina and Ons Jabeur sent a letter to WTA management in October demanding various changes including higher pay, better scheduling and expanded childcare. Apparently, they have been unimpressed with the response.
Given the massive hole in WTA finances after the loss of Chinese events, the thorny question of whether to hold events in Saudi Arabia and the spectre of Novak Djokovic’s player council (PTPA), it’s a particularly challenging time for management of the women’s game.
How will this all be resolved?
RESULTS
CANCUN | WTA FINALS
The poor weather and staging blighted play at the Finals but here’s a summary for the record.
After failing to win a match at last season’s event, Jessica Pegula has turned things around in style in Cancun. The world no.5 won all three of her Group Bacalar matches against Sabalenka, Rybakina and Maria Sakkari. Sabalenka won two out of three to also make the semis while poor Sakkari finished bottom and winless.
In the Chetumal Group, Iga Swiatek stormed to top spot with three wins over Coco Gauff, Ons Jabeur and Marketa Vondrousova. Gauff, the US Open champion, joined Swiatek in the last four with two wins from three while Vondrousova received the wooden spoon.
In the semi-finals, Pegula was far too solid for her doubles partner (Gauff) and triumphed 6-2 6-1. Then last night, after weather delayed the match for 24 hours, Swiatek overwhelmed Sabalenka with a superb display to win 6-3 6-2.
The final between Pegula and Swiatek will take place this evening from 21.30 (GMT) on Amazon Prime Video.
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SWIATEK DOMINATES WTA FINALS
Iga Swiatek captures first WTA Finals and reclaims no.1 ranking after demolishing Jessica Pegula
PARIS | ATP 1000
Novak Djokovic keeps rolling along, claiming titles and traumatising players. The world no.1 captured his seventh Paris Masters title on Sunday, and 40th Masters overall, with a comfortable enough 6-4 6-3 victory over Grigor Dimitrov. Their head-to-head is now 12-1 in the Serb’s favour.
It’s the 97th career title for Djokovic and extends his lead at the top of the ATP rankings. As for Dimitrov, after a super week where he beat Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Hubert Hurkacz, the Bulgarian returns to the top 15.
NEWS
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