Daria Kasatkina criticized the scheduling of the Abu Dhabi Open, describing it as “awful” and questioning whether the WTA and its tournaments are intentionally putting players at risk. Kasatkina is set to face Elena Rybakina in the final of the Abu Dhabi Open at 5 pm local time on Sunday. However, the very next day, she is expected to compete in her first-round match against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in Doha, Qatar.
After a grueling two-hour and 59-minute match against Beatriz Haddad Maia, which she won 6-3 4-6 7-6 (2), Kasatkina expressed her frustration with the scheduling. “It’s truly terrible scheduling,” she stated candidly, according to AFP. “I don’t understand how they can schedule the tournament finals on Sunday, with the next tournament starting on Saturday. So, I have to play on Monday in Doha, without a bye. And I have the finals tomorrow at 5 pm.”
Kasatkina emphasized the logistical challenges of the situation, highlighting the lack of teleportation technology that would allow her to instantly travel from Abu Dhabi to Doha. “We don’t have the technology yet for me to just snap my fingers and be in Doha in five seconds,” she lamented.
Given that the Abu Dhabi final will likely conclude in the evening, Kasatkina will have to catch a flight on Monday to reach Doha. This tight turnaround has raised concerns for the player. “I have a question, I don’t know who to address it to, whether it’s the WTA or the tournaments. Are you deliberately trying to put players at risk of injury or exhaustion?” she questioned. “I might have to fly on Monday and step onto the court the same day, after playing five matches here at such a high level. So, I’m sorry, but this is something that needs to be discussed and taken into consideration.”
Despite the scheduling challenges, Kasatkina is just one win away from securing her first victory since her triumph in Granby in August 2022. However, to achieve this, she will need to deliver an exceptional performance to defeat the top-seeded Rybakina and prevent her from claiming her second title of the season.
According to the Source tennisworldusa.org