The Canadian Open: Tournament Scheduling Takes a Toll on Elena Rybakina
Elena Rybakina Expresses Frustration with Canadian Open Match Scheduling
Tennis player Elena Rybakina has voiced her displeasure with the match scheduling at the recent Canadian Open and criticized the leadership of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) for their handling of the issue.
The quarter-final match between Rybakina and Daria Kasatkina lasted late into the night, not finishing until 03:00 local time on Saturday. As a result, her semi-final against Liudmila Samsonova had to be delayed to Sunday due to rain.
Rybakina then went on to suffer defeat in the semi-finals against Samsonova, who ultimately lost in the final to Jessica Pegula just a couple of hours later.
Expressing her frustration about the situation, Rybakina said, “I’m not really happy about it, but it is what it is. I feel destroyed because of the scheduling and the whole situation.”
The intense quarter-final match against Kasatkina took three hours and 27 minutes to complete. During her subsequent semi-final loss to Samsonova, she had strapping on her right shoulder as a result of picking up injuries during that grueling encounter.
Rybakina blamed weak leadership from WTA rather than tournament organizers for mishandling schedules. Representing Kazakhstan despite being born in Moscow, she expressed uncertainty regarding any adjustments she may make prior to participating in this year’s US Open starting on August 28.
“I think that the most important is the WTA here,” she added. “Leadership [is] a little bit weak for now but hopefully something is going to change because this year it was many situations which I can’t really understand.”
Reflecting on her current physical condition, Rybakina admitted, “I have to see how I feel and evaluate the small injuries which I have now. I have to be smart in making any decision.”
This isn’t the first time match scheduling has come under scrutiny in tennis. Earlier this year, world number one Iga Swiatek also expressed frustration with late finishes at both her last-16 match and semi-final during the Madrid Open in May.