'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The tennis community was irked by the reports of WTA docking Oleksandra Oliynykova's title winner's points from the W35 Santa Margherita di Pula 5 event last week. According to the Ukrainian's father, Denis Oliynykov, who serves in his nation's army, he had missed the deadline to withdraw her daughter's name as an Alternate from last week's 125-level event in Saint-Malo, France.
Oliynykova won her first title of the year in Santa Margherita di Pula last week, beating local favorite Dalila Spiteri 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 in two hours and 35 minutes. The 24-year-old is now competing at the W35 Santa Margherita di Pula 6 event. In the meantime, the news of WTA choosing to fine her and take away the 35 ranking points she gained from her triumph has emerged, to which the Ukrainian and her father have since protested.
Trending
According to the report by BTU, the World No. 274 was 15th in the list of Alternates for the qualifying event at the L'Open 35 de Saint Malo, but found herself in the draw after several players ahead of her withdrew. Denis Oliynykov was subsequently sent an email to take his daughter's name off the alternates list.
Unfortunately, Denis was admittedly not aware of this development since he was deployed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine at the time. Since Oliynykov failed to act on time, the women's tennis governing body decided to penalize his daughter for not following its guidelines.
Against that background, a large majority of tennis fans on X took umbrage at WTA for its unsympathetic treatment of the Ukrainian tennis pro. One fan pointed out the lack of clarity in the Florida-based company's rules while citing the contents of BTU's report.
"This is quite a bad look for the WTA, the story itself is absurd and unfair toward the player but you can't reply 'no problem, you are entitled to three late withdrawals without penalties' and then basically 'nah we were joking,'" they wrote on X.
Others, meanwhile, implored WTA to do right by Oleksandra Oliynykova and make an exception for her.
"So we are waiting for you to tell publicly how this is going to be solved," one fan insisted.
A few fans made out-of-context remarks at the women's governing body by alluding to 'pro-war Russian players' not having been sanctioned.
"At the same time, @WTA allows 'neutral' russian and belarusian players to participate in tournaments," one fan claimed.
Here are a few more reactions from social media:
"Sport is out of politics, really??!! #StopRussianAggression #Ukraine," one fan wrote.
"Not surprised at all, you have fallen way too low," another fan asserted.
"Tennis association being f***in stupid again," one fan rued.
The 24-year-old Oliynykova, meanwhile, wrote a letter to WTA asking it to restore the ranking points she picked up last week if BTU's report is anything to go by.
Oleksandra Oliynykova makes her feelings known on WTA taking away her ranking points from title run in Santa Margherita di Pula
The World No. 274 expressed dismay with the above situation while showing full accountability for her team's inability to withdraw her name from the qualifiers in Saint-Malo. That said, the Ukrianian felt that WTA's decision had significant ramifications on whether she would make the entry cut for the qualifying event at next month's French Open, prompting her to claim that it was an "overly harsh punishment."
"The only mistake our team made in this situation was that my father was unable to respond to the unusual WTA email as quickly as other players' teams — within a few hours. We fully accept our responsibility and will do everything possible to ensure such a situation does not happen again in the future," Oleksandra Oliynykova wrote in her appeal.
"However, to be denied the chance to play my first Grand Slam simply because my father was at war and couldn't reply to your email in time seems like an overly harsh punishment."
Denis Oliynykov has also disclosed that there was an ambiguity in WTA's guidelines. While he had initially been told that players are allowed three late withdrawals, they cannot feature in the draws of a tour-level event and an ITF tournament in the same week.
