"It’s been unprofessional, the leadership is a little weak" - Elena Rybakina calls out WTA over 3 am finish at Canadian Open as she falls short in SF
Elena Rybakina has expressed her discontent with the WTA after enduring scheduling issues during her campaign at the 2023 Canadian Open.
On Friday, August 11, Rybakina took on Daria Kasatkina in a thrilling quarterfinal clash at the WTA 1000 event. The Kazakh secured a 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(8) victory over Kasatkina after a three-hour-27-minute-long battle. The match ended just five minutes shy of 3 am, leaving the 24-year-old feeling "destroyed" due to the late finish.
"I am destroyed guys! But thank you so much for everyone who stayed so late. It’s really amazing that you supported us," Elena Rybakina said during her on-court interview.
The World No. 4 faced further scheduling issues on Saturday as her semifinal clash against Liudmila Samsonova was postponed to Sunday, the day of the final, due to rain. Samsonova defeated the Kazakh 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 to advance to the final to face Jessica Pegula.
Following her defeat, Rybakina reflected on her quarterfinal match against Kasatkina and expressed dissatisfaction with the late finish. The Kazakh characterized the tournament's scheduling as "unprofessional" and attributed the issue to what she deemed as "weak" leadership within the WTA.
"It’s the first time when the match went that long and we finished also so late. It’s the first time and hopefully the last time because I think it’s been a little bit unprofessional from the, I cannot say really the tournament because I think that the most important is the WTA here, and the leadership is a little bit weak for now," she said in her post-match press conference.
Rybakina expressed her hope for improvements in the future, emphasizing that there were several instances over the course of the 2023 season where she struggled to comprehend the scheduling decisions.
"But hopefully, something is going to change because this year, it was many situations which I cannot really understand," she added.
"The worst thing is that it's not about this tournament, it’s not going to be easy for the next two weeks" - Elena Rybakina after Canadian Open SF defeat
Elena Rybakina also divulged that she had only managed five hours of sleep after her quarterfinal clash against Daria Kasatkina, which hampered her recovery significantly.
"Well we finished at 3 am, while I showered, did some stretching a little bit and went back to the hotel, I fell asleep at 5 am. I woke up at 10 am and it was impossible to sleep so it definitely wasn’t enough time to recover," Elena Rybakina said.
She further asserted that the repercussions of the Canadian Open's scheduling wouldn't be limited to the tournament alone but would extend over the next two weeks, leading up to the US Open.
"The worst thing is that it's not about this tournament, it’s going to be not easy to recover for the next two weeks," she said.
Rybakina will be back in action at the 2023 Western & Southern Open. Following a bye in the first round, the fourth seed will take on the winner of the match between Jelena Ostapenko and Karolina Pliskova to commence her campaign in Cincinnati.