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Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, and Marketa Vondrousova have openly expressed their displeasure at the organization of the 2023 WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico.
Among their complaints is the condition of the lone court on which the entire tournament is being played. Most players at the year-ending championships have also been unhappy with the delay in construction of the new court, which was not ready until one day before the tournament began and thus not available for practice.
The top women stars have aired their grievances on social media, which has garnered significant attention and sympathy from the tennis community. However, tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg recently took to X to offer a differing opinion.
Rothenberg believes that players openly slamming the WTA does more harm than good and hinders the growth of the leading women's tennis body.
"I completely agree with this. Player complaints around Cancun are definitely hurting the event's chances of finding its footing through its challenges, and undermine the WTA in a way that isn't helpful to women's tennis, even if WTA was to blame for Cancun's hasty timetable," he posted on X (formerly Twitter)
Tennis fans took serious issue with Rothenberg's opinion and criticized him for diminishing the efforts made by players to inspire change at the WTA. Many even called him out for treating complaints by men's and women's players differently.
"It's the biggest WTA event of the year. The court is barely playable, the stadium is barely standing and the organization/planning leading up to the event was laughable, but the players should just shut up and play? Right," one fan wrote.
"Why shouldn’t they complain like f**k that they’ve been screwed over the last three years with these finals, it won’t find it’s footing regardless so they have every right to call the WTA out," a fan posted on X.
"That’s like saying you’re lucky to eat at the adult table. The wta leadership is and has been failing. If Nadal or Federer were forced to play on a makeshift amateur court without practice they would be heard and NOT blamed for the terrible disaster of the tour," another fan said.
"Being told to put up and shut up by men is the very essence of being a woman in any walk of life, sadly," a fan said.
Here are some more reactions from tennis fans to Ben Rothenberg's take on the player's complaints at the WTA Finals:
Marketa Vondrousova condemns "terrible" court conditions at WTA Finals 2023
Marketa Vondrousova has been one of the most vocal critics of the WTA Finals' organization this year.
She has specifically taken issue with the court conditions at the newly constructed stadium in Cancun, Mexico. After losing her first-ever match at the tournament against Iga Swiatek, 6-7(3), 0-6, the Czech No. 1 said the court does not have an even surface and contains bumps, which causes unusual bounces.
"I have to say, this is pretty meaty. There are terrible bumps. If you want to play it quickly, it's not possible at all. It bounces all over the place. With her spins, it's hard to chase it there. I think the court is really bad," Vondroušová told Czech publication Radiožurnál Sport.
The reigning Wimbledon champion also feels let down by the WTA, which she believes is not giving appropriate weight to complaints by its top stars. She wrote on Instagram that their year-round hard work is being wasted due to the conditions at the year-ending tournament.
"My first WTA Finals is not at all what I imagined. We work hard all year to get to the finals and in the end it's just a disappointment. Stadium is not at all ready for the matches and to me it feels like the people from WTA are absolutely not interested in how we - who are supposed to play on that court feel," Marketa Vondrousova wrote.
In her second group stage match, the 24-year-old lost to Ons Jabeur, 4-6, 3-6. However, she still has a chance of qualifying for the knockout stages; she needs to beat Coco Gauff in her last group stage clash and hope that Iga Swiatek comprehensively defeats Jabeur.
