Marketa Vondrousova is making her WTA Finals debut, but due to the tournament’s last-minute organization, the experience is way worse than she imagined it would be. After losing her Chetumal Group opener to Iga Swiatek, the reigning Wimbledon champion voiced her frustration with the facilities in Cancun.
Seventh-seeded Vondrousova secured a 5-2 lead, with Swiatek accounting for 13 of the match’s initial 16 unforced errors. The momentum shifted thereafter, with Vondrousova faltering twice while serving for the set, ultimately conceding it to Swiatek at 7-6(3), before succumbing in the second set at 6-0.
The world No.6 Vondrousova, who was ranked No.121 this time last year, took to Instagram to express her frustration with conditions in Cancun, stating:
My first WTA Finals is not at all what I imagined. We worked hard all year to get to the Finals and in the end it’s just a disappointment. Stadium is not at all ready for the matches and to me it feels like the people from the WTA are absolutely not interested in how we, who are supposed to play on that court, feel. We do not feel that anyone listens to us and is interested in our opinion. Very sad.
Just like other players, Vondrousova made sure to praise the locals for their dedication:
On another note, I am really grateful to all the people here in Mexico for being so nice and very helpful with everything.
The Finals feature the top eight singles players and doubles teams of the season, yet the conditions fall far short of the elite standard expected. World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka was the first to articulate her disappointment, expressing a sense of disrespect from the WTA. Tournament debutante Elena Rybakina echoed these sentiments, remarking that everyone is struggling. Ons Jabeur stated, “Hopefully, this will never, ever, ever happen again. Like ever.” Even Iga Swiatek voiced her discontent, “For sure, it’s not comfortable.”
The WTA stated that the court complies with its standards.
