In a late-night thriller at the China Open, Petra Kvitova defeated an energetic Wang Xiyu, but the next night she was back on the court for her next match, making it an exhausting 24 hours for the player.
A number of other first-round matches are still to be played, which adds to the Czech’s demanding schedule that saw her play both of her opening matches with very little break between them.
Kvitova, who lost to Liudmila Samsonova in the second round, appeared clearly exhausted during the match as she battled fatigue after the three-hour dramatic struggle the night before.
After her match, she expressed her discontent with the scheduling on social media, calling it a ‘far from ideal’ circumstance. Kvitova claimed that she had always respected the game and did not readily become irritated by such things, but that she felt strongly about this particular problem.
Kvitova expressed her frustration on Twitter and wrote: “Far from ideal to finish my match at the @ChinaOpen, at 1 am and then be back on the schedule at NB 5:30 pm the next day when some first round matches had yet to be played. I have always played the sport with huge respect and rarely speak out, but this time I feel strongly.”
She further wrote in another post: “Enough to say that there *has* to have been a fairer option. Please do better for your players @WTA.”
Far from ideal to finish my match at the @ChinaOpen at 1am and then be back on the schedule at NB 5:30pm the next day when some first round matches had yet to be played. I have always played the sport with huge respect and rarely speak out, but this time I feel strongly…
— Petra Kvitova (@Petra_Kvitova) October 2, 2023
Petra Kvitova speaks out about the terrible scheduling in Beijing:
“Far from ideal to finish my match at 1 a.m. & then be back on the schedule at NB 5:30 p.m. the next day when some 1st round matches had yet to be played…”
Not the first time WTA’s been terrible with scheduling… pic.twitter.com/cEQoFPzhT2
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) October 2, 2023
Petra Kvitova in 2023
Ranked world no.14, the Czech played her last match on the 2nd of October when she lost to world no.22 Ludmilla Samsonova 6-4 7-5 in the 2nd round in Beijing (draw).
This year the Czech has achieved a composed 30-13 record. Petra clinched 2 titles in 2023 in Miami and Berlin.
Petra Kvitova |
| Embed from Getty Images |
