- The WTA treated tennis players to a strange season finale in Cancun. But this is not the end of the problems faced by Iga Svetek and the other players
- Iga Świątek and other top players have sent a letter to the WTA authorities about this matter, but no one has listened to them yet
- Everything indicates that the WTA rejected the Czech offer because it is actually waiting for the right moment to move the tournament to Saudi Arabia.
- We spoke to Tomas Petra, who wanted to organize the WTA Finals in the Czech Republic. He directly says that the WTA is lying when it claims that there may be a problem with Russian and Belarusian women entering the Czech Republic.
- – It’s a lie. They have received confirmation that they can play. I even asked the government for a document assuring me that everything was fine! – says Peter
- You can find more interesting stories in Przegląd Sportowy Onet
– Nobody really cares about our well-being and health – said Iga Svetek after winning the match against Coco Gauff. The Pole was interested in the changes that the WTA wants to introduce. The Federation plans to increase the number of mandatory tournaments starting next year. The top players gathered after the tournament in Beijing and wrote a letter to the women’s tennis authorities, but it seems that no one has listened to their voices yet.
Continued article below the video
Iga Świątek in Cancun speaking live
– I am 22 years old, I have played two of the strongest seasons of my life and I already feel that it will be difficult for me to continue playing for many years if the WTA goes in this direction and increases the number of mandatory requirements. Championships. In the coming years, most WTA 1000 tournaments will last for two weeks, which will also affect the time we spend at home and the time between tournaments, Świątek said after the match in a venue where most players did not want to be.
The WTA Finals are the icing on the cake on the calendar. A tournament featuring only the best of the best and should be a celebration. At least in theory, because practice is completely different. The men’s tournament will start in Turin in a few days and you can count on a great atmosphere and atmosphere there. Women don’t have one or the other.
But there is a stadium that is not suitable for playing at the highest level, it is sandy, with scaffolding around it because it was built until the last minute, without crowds, but with stormy winds that could change the course of the matches. Weather problems were easy to predict and the WTA was well aware of them.
The Czechs are terrified! “They are complete amateurs”
Why did he choose Mexico? Especially since there are other serious candidates? Why was the decision delayed until the last minute? Tennis players learned of their upcoming trip to Mexico just a few weeks ago, and several players have already criticized the WTA for not providing information about the location of the event. Some of them will have two days to travel to Seville for the Billie Jean King Cup (Świątek withdrew due to the number of events).
At first it seemed that the tournament would return to the Chinese city of Shenzhen, but the topic was dropped. The agreement with the Chinese was signed for 10 years, but was suspended after the outbreak of the epidemic and later the scandal with Shuai Zhang (she accused former Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli of rape and later disappeared for some time – editor’s note).
Now the Czechs have entered the game, led by Tomas Petra, the Czech businessman who organizes the tournament in Ostrava. He convinced Peter that he had the budget, facilities, and idea for the tournament. The WTA decided otherwise.
– Why not the Czech Republic? I have no idea! This does not make any sense – a Czech businessman tells Przegląd Sportowy Onet.
He adds: – We have reserved the arena. We have been hosting the WTA 500 in Ostrava for the past three years with great success. The stands were completely full. Most of the players now playing in Cancun have played in Ostrava, so they know the potential and quality we can offer. I have no idea why this decision was made and held in Cancun. Even if you look at the logic, they had to travel around the world from China to Mexico, and next week some of them will be playing in Europe again.
The WTA claimed that the entry of Russian and Belarusian women into the Czech Republic could be a problem, as these countries are under sanctions due to the Russian attack on Ukraine. Only Petra says it’s a lie.
-This is a complete lie, 100 percent! The Czech Republic is basically the same as other EU countries. There are restrictions on using the flag and things like that, but that’s the case everywhere in the world. Let’s not talk about possible problems with Russian or Belarusian women, because there were none at all. The proposal they received from us with security is basically what they requested. It was especially concerned with the possibility of Russian and Belarusian players playing in the Czech Republic. They have received confirmation that they can play. I even asked the government for a document assuring me that everything was fine! – says Peter.
The WTA rejected the Czech’s advances. He counts the petrodollars
what’s going? The Czechs have wanted to organize the tournament for several years. This will be the known route from the ATP. There, the season finals have been organized by the London O2 Arena for many years, and now Torino has been doing so for several years, providing continuity and security for tennis players who do not have to worry about the calendar standings until the end of the season. Last minute.
The WTA Women’s Finals were held in Guadalajara (2021), then in Dallas and now in Cancun.
Petra: – We talked about two projects. One of them was intended for this year and the other for the next three or four years, starting in 2024, he says, adding: – This is complete madness. Several girls from the Czech Republic, including Eja, have qualified for the WTA Finals, so the atmosphere in Ostrava will be great. We will sell out every day. 8.5 thousand people from Sunday to Sunday! I do not understand that!
The WTA seems to be looking hopefully at a very different direction for the world. Specifically, Saudi Arabia, where they depend on petrodollars. There had already been a lot of talk about this topic, but no agreement was reached, and war broke out in the Middle East. – I know that the future plan includes negotiations with the Saudis. Petra says: Yes, to play in Riyadh.
The topic sparked a lot of comments.
– I support opening dialogue, but I need to commit to women. I want to know their goals and educational plans. If it’s just about money, that’s a big mistake. Eight-time WTA Finals winner Martina Navratilova said in the New York Times that the WTA would lose credibility by ignoring human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia.
The question is, does anyone on the WTA care? So far, the sound is average, as are the players’ voices. However, Petra is not giving up and wants to fight for the WTA Finals in 2024 in Prague.
-We have sent a proposal to the WTA. Only again, it’s the same situation. This decision should have been made months ago! – says the Czech, finally criticizing Magda Linette, who recently said that there is a lack of infrastructure in Ostrava.
– I was very surprised when I saw an article containing statements by Lynette, your player. I can’t believe she said such things about Ostrava, it’s not a good place and has very few hotel facilities. This is complete nonsense. We hosted the Fed Cup and the WTA 500 in Ostrava, and there were athletics competitions featuring Marion Jones and Usain Bolt. It is a sports city and has infrastructure. Of course, it would have been better to play in Prague, but in such a short period of preparation, I had to choose Ostrava because I was sure that I could provide the best services to the WTA at a very high level. If you want to do something at the O2 hall in Prague, you should make a reservation in advance, preferably two years in advance. The Czech said that the WTA makes decisions about the most important tournaments three months before they start, which is difficult to understand.
source:Onet Sports Review
Date of creation: Today, 17:12
Journalist for the newspaper Przeglad Sportuy One
