After securing her place in the Abu Dhabi Open final, Daria Kasatkina slammed the WTA and tournament organizers for what she described as terrible scheduling.
Kasatkina will play fellow Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the Qatar Open first round in Doha the following day, in addition to taking on top-seeded Elena Rybakina in the final match on Sunday. Kasatkina said that the players were not treated fairly in the situation and that there might be an increased risk of injury as a result.
She expressed her thoughts after the match and said: “It’s terrible scheduling, honestly. I don’t know how you can schedule the finals of the tournament on Sunday, wanting to finish the next tournament on Saturday, so you start it on Sunday, and like this, if the player, like me, doesn’t have a bye in Doha, I have to play on Monday. And I play the finals tomorrow at 5 p.m. We don’t yet have this technology that I can just do like this (snaps her fingers) and be in Doha in five seconds.”
Since Kasatkina is uncertain if she will be able to take a flight on Sunday night from Abu Dhabi to Doha, she has urged the circuit and event organizers to consider changing the timetable moving forward.
She further said: “I have a question; I don’t know to whom, to the WTA or the tournaments, like, are you guys trying to make players die or get injured often? I might have to fly on Monday and step on the court the same day after playing five matches here at the highest level. So I’m sorry but that’s something we have to talk about and consider.”
She concluded her discussion and said: “We’re players, we’re humans and we’re trying to do our job the best we can. But under the circumstances, it’s not very easy. I hope this question will be addressed to the right people. And I’m not crying; I’m just saying the facts and the facts are saying that it’s impossible; it cannot be like that.”
Daria Kasatkina asks WTA some tough questions due to scheduling 😯#DariaKasatkina #WTA #AbuDhabi #Tennis pic.twitter.com/z4O4b5Yrk2
— Sportskeeda Tennis (@SK__Tennis) February 11, 2024
Kasatkina in Abu Dhabi, ranking, and results in 2024
Currently the world no.14, the Russian achieved a compiled 9-3 record in 2024. The Russian is competing in Abu Dhabi where she beat the world no.59 Diane Parry 6-4 5-7 6-4, the world no.82 Ashlyn Krueger 6-3 7-5, the world no.26 Sorana Cirstea 6-2 6-0 and the world no.13 Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-3 4-6 7-62.
Darya Kasatkina will face the world no.5 Elena Rybakina in the final on Sunday at 12:00 pm on Stadium Court. Their current record is 2-2.
The Russian got to the final in Adelaide (Adelaide International).
Kasatkina won 6 titles in her career: 3 on hard courts, 1 on clay courts and 2 on indoor courts. (See the list of her titles)
Kasatkina has scheduled to compete next in Doha (Qatar TotalEnergies Open). She will start to play the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 12th of February.
Darya Kasatkina |
| Embed from Getty Images |
