It’s been a treacherous last few weeks for Elena Rybakina. To make matters worse, there is the latest addition to her woes. As things stand, the Kazakh didn’t receive a first-round bye at this year’s Japan Open. This is even though she is the third seed at the event and is bound to get one.
Usually, at the WTA tournaments, the top four seeds, and in some cases, the top eight or the top 16 get a bye in the first round. The Japan Open, a WTA 500 tournament is one such event where the excellence of the top seeds is recognized. In this case, though, Elena didn’t get one while Maria Sakkari and Caroline Garcia, fourth and fifth seeds respectively, got one.
As we can see, it was based on the interesting reason of performance byes. This can simply be put as accommodating players based on their recent performances. It also reduces the risk of more withdrawals from events. But Rybakina is visibly upset with the last-minute rule change, and it didn’t go down well with her.
Elena Rybakina finds herself on the wrong side of things
This is not the first time that Elena Rybakina has found herself to be hard done. Just before the U.S. Open, she had to endure two tough tournaments, owing to poor scheduling. In the Cincinnati Open, she was forced to give a walk-over suffering from extreme heat. Following this, at the Canadian Open, she practically had to play two matches on the same day, virtually drenching her.
Elena Rybakina calls out WTA leadership for poor scheduling in Kasatkina marathon:
“It’s the 1st time & hopefully the last. I think it’s a bit unprofessional.. Most important is WTA here. Leadership is a bit weak for now. Hopefully something changes.. I fell asleep at 5 a.m.” pic.twitter.com/CpUdkJ86kz
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) August 13, 2023
The former Wimbledon champion is not alone, though, as she has found support from her peers. Iga Swiatek, who usually has an affinity for bringing about positive changes in women’s tennis, has come out and stated, “Do you guys watch these matches?” By this, she has advocated for early starts to night matches and went on to stress that players’ health conditions are of primary importance.
Novak Djokovic also joined in and voiced his support for better scheduling. According to him, night sessions take a toll on the body of players and they could find it tough to adapt. He added, “It seems good for the players, maybe it’s not ideal, but you also have to find the balance to satisfy the fans. Tournaments are just looking for more profit and income.”
Coming back to the denial of a bye for Rybakina at the Japan Open by the WTA, it is a good strategy that needs better implementation. The aim of it is to facilitate the participation of players, who have to go through tight schedules and long travels, in a better manner. However, the process by which it was put forward requires consistency and leaves much to be desired.
It is high time that the WTA considers these things and avoids discrepancies while organizing tournaments. It would let the players be in a happy place and worry only about on-court performances. This can make the sport more watchable and avoid backlashes. Hopefully, Rybakina’s situation will be an eye-opener and serve as a foundation for better things in the future.
