The bosses of the women’s tennis tour had imagined everything to be so beautiful. Spectacular pictures from Cancún, Mexico, right on the Caribbean Sea, dream beaches included. It was supposed to be the perfect backdrop for the season finale for the best players of the year
However, instead of a mixture of summer idyll and spectacular tennis, the WTA Finals provided grotesque scenes of freezing players, flying garbage cans and blown balls. The highlight of the season had long since degenerated into a farce, even before Poland’s Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula from the USA faced each other on Monday evening (local time) in the final, which was postponed by one day due to the weather chaos.
Heavily criticized even before the start
Even before the million-dollar event began, there had been fierce criticism of the conditions in Cancún. Because the WTA had only named the Mexican coastal metropolis as the venue at very short notice, preparations had not yet been completed when the players from all over the world arrived in Mexico. The result: unlike usual, training sessions on the center court were hardly possible. “That’s unacceptable for me when there’s so much at stake,” said world number one Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus.
The frustration among the world’s best players is huge – and is nothing new. At the beginning of October, numerous stars in the industry had already expressed their displeasure at the developments in women’s tennis in a letter of protest to WTA boss Steve Simon. Higher prize money, better tournament planning, improved childcare – the list of points of criticism is long. What particularly bothers the players, however, is that they are not being listened to and involved
Simon does not reply to letter
The letter to the decision-makers, dated October 5, therefore contained an explicit request for a written response from WTA boss Simon by October 13. But this failed to materialize. Four-time Grand Slam tournament winner Swiatek even wrote a personal letter to Simon in which she once again clearly addressed the demands and points of criticism and called for “real change”.
Instead of the desired answers in written form, Simon invited the players to a meeting in Cancún. But even there, the WTA boss did not give the answers expected by the players – which is why, according to information from “The Athletic”, the players left the room before the end of the meeting. The fact that representatives of the players’ union PTPA, which was founded by Novak Djokovic around three years ago, were not invited also caused annoyance.
When asked by dpa, the WTA did not respond to the points of criticism. Instead, the organization praised the positive development in recent years. “We are proud of what we have achieved and look forward to continuing the important discussions with the players and tournaments and continuing to work towards a strong future for women’s tennis,” said the WTA.
“It’s going to be tough for Steve “
However, the uprising of the players and the disaster in Cancún could still be dangerous for the American Simon, who has been at the top of the WTA for eight years. The 2022 WTA Finals in Fort Worth, Texas, were held almost entirely in private. “It’s going to be hard for Steve to keep his job,” said 18-time Grand Slam tournament winner Martina Navratilova on Amazon Prime. “Maybe it’s time for new leadership.”
The WTA is a women’s organization, but has only had two women at the top over the years. “I think it’s time that when we get new leadership, we get a woman again,” said the 67-year-old Navratilova. “There are enough women who have the qualities for it. “
The debates about the WTA Finals are not over with the Cancún final: Saudi Arabia, which has been criticized for human rights violations, is a hot candidate for the upcoming editions.
