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Tennis fans expressed their anger at the Italian Open after Anhelina Kalinina revealed that she and Elena Rybakina did not have any choice about the timing of the final.
The 2023 women's singles final and the men's singles semifinals were both scheduled for Saturday, May 20. With rain delaying the last four fixture between Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas, the title clash between Rybakina and Kalinina also got delayed as a consequence.
The match, which finally got underway at 11 pm local time, saw Rybakina come out on top after Kalinina was forced to retire due to a thigh injury.
After the match, Kalinina disclosed that she and Rybakina had to play the final on Saturday despite the match starting late in the night. They did not have the option of pushing the contest to the next day as Sunday's schedule was already full.
"I mean, as I understood we don't have any other choice because tomorrow they have fully booked schedule. They kind of cannot put us tomorrow," the Ukranian said.
Following Kalinina's statements, tennis fans criticized the Italian Open's inability to reschedule the final following the rain delay. One fan stated that the crowd booing the tournament organizers during the presentation ceremony was justified.
"So Rome organizers lied and told journos and tv commies that both women wanted to play the final on the same day just so they can hold ladies final at 11pm (and avoid giving refunds?). I am glad the crowd booed tf out of them every time they were mentioned," a fan said.
Another fan slammed the tournament for "lying" to the media and also criticized the WTA for their silence during the scheduling controversies in Madrid and Rome
"Oh for gods sake— so they basically lied to the media and everyone yesterday then so they could avoid giving refunds? The WTA have been very useless and very silent over the debacles that have been Madrid and Rome," a tweet read.
One user questioned why the Italian Open organizers did not learn from the scheduling debacle in Madrid.
"Also just noticed this… So the assumption now has to be that the tournament told everyone they gave the players the choice even if that wasn’t the case? What a couple of tournaments it’s been for shafting the women. You’d think they’d learn from Madrid’s questionable decisions," a comment read.
Here are some more fan reactions:
Elena Rybakina and Daniil Medvedev clinch singles trophies at 2023 Italian Open
Elena Rybakina and Daniil Medvedev have emerged as the singles champions at the 2023 Italian Open.
Rybakina's win was her second title of the season and will take her to a career-high fourth in the WTA rankings.
Medvedev won the men's singles event by beating Holger Rune 7-5, 7-5 in the final. This was the Russian's 20th career title, his first on clay, and his fifth of the season.
Medvedev's triumph in Rome will see him move up to World No. 2, surpassing Novak Djokovic, whose title defense ended in the quarterfinals. The Russian is currently 485 points behind World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz.
Elsewhere, Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski won the men's doubles title while Elise Mertens and Strom Sanders triumphed in the women's doubles.
