Seville and Cancún, 7,819 kilometers apart and more than 14 hours of transoceanic travel, host the two most important tournaments of the women’s tennis season, leaving almost no time for players to rest and lie down. It hasn’t even been 12 hours will be between WTA Finals and the beginning Billie Jean King’s Cup By the teams at La Cartuja stadium.
An incompatible calendar that will prevent you from seeing the best tennis players in the world. Of the top 10 on the track, they will only be in Seville. Elena Rybakina (4), Kazakhstan and Marketa Vondrousova (6) and Barbora Krejcikova (10) with the Czech Republic, who arrived from Cancun to get used to a tournament that brings together the world’s 12 best teams.
Australia and Slovenia will open the first round of the Billie Jean King Cup this Tuesday (10am), a few hours after the Polish team on Monday. Iga Wsiatek (2) and American Jessika Pegula (5) Competed in the Women’s Masters final with the title and the season’s No. 1 at stake (22:30, DZN).
Bad, yes; Swiatek, no.
lowering Swiatek, It was announced months ago by the Polish company after learning of the challenging schedule. This will benefit the Spanish team, who are in group 3 alongside Poland and will play their first match against Canada this Wednesday (16:00, TVE and Movistar+).
if it were to happen Paula Badosa (former world No. 2) has not played since retiring in the second round at Wimbledon last June with a back injury. Although his form is unknown, the Catalan athlete has decided to return to the track due to the need to secure a possible Olympic place at next year’s Paris Olympic Games.
“I feel good without any pain, playing in Spain is an extra motivation”
Speaking at the press conference, the 25-year-old Catalan tennis player said, “I feel good, I do not feel pain and I am willing to play. Knowing that this tournament will be played in Spain” was an extra motivation to accelerate the “recovery”. The Spanish team hit Sevilla. badosa He admits that he “misses tennis, though not everything else in life.” He says the break helped him “learn a lot of things, including being patient.”
He emphasized that “the field factor is an extra motivation.” Anabel MedinaThe Spanish captain faced the options of challenging for a title won five times (1991, 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1998) under Arantxa Sánchez and Conchita Martínez, currently the director of the tournament in Seville. Together with Badosa (currently ranked 67th in the world) they will form the Spanish team Sara is upset (51), Rebeka Masarova (65), Cristina Bucsa (82) and Marina Bassols (112).
organizational disaster
If Seville saved the organization of the Billie Jean King Cup against time, the same thing did not happen in the WTA Finals, which were played before four rounds were completed on the mechanical tube track installed on one of the golf courses in Quintana Roo. Days before the tournament starts.
“This is disrespectful,” he complained. Aryna Sabalenka (World No. 1) players could only train for 45 minutes a day at the center while workers completed work. The Belarusian player, who was eliminated in the semi-finals, criticized: “It was a disappointing and disastrous tournament.” swiatek (6-3, 6-2). The final has been postponed to this Monday due to recent storms.
Navratilova, review
“We finished the whirlwind season by playing the most important tournament of the year in Cancun. It was a series of bad decisions and he couldn’t even talk openly about it all. Maybe it’s time for new leadership and to get better with a woman at the helm. Steve Simon He’s been there for nine years and look where we’ve come,” the former No.1 condemned. Martina Navratilova.
“It’s not a perfect event“We understand that conditions are challenging and the WTA of course takes responsibility for this,” WTA president Simon wrote in a letter to players following the protests. Cancún was chosen to host the tournament on the 7th. In September, it replaced the Chinese city of Senzhen, where Ostrava (Czech Republic) and Saudi Arabia also wish to hold the tournament.