Aryna Sabalenka has snapped back at the Dubai Tennis Championships tournament director following his calls for “harsher punishments” for players who withdraw from events at the last minute.
World No 1 Sabalenka and six-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek skipped this year’s WTA 1000 tournament in the United Arab Emirates with the pair announcing their intention to miss the tournament on the eve of the draw.
But they were not the only two women’s stars who didn’t feature in Dubai this year, as a total of 16 players who were on the main draw entry list pulled out of the tournament, leaving organisers upset.
And tournament director Salah Tahlak was unimpressed, particularly with Sabalenka and Swiatek, as he told The National: “It was an unfortunate surprise [on Friday] to get news of the withdrawal of Aryna and Iga. And the reasons for withdrawal were a bit strange
“Iga said she wasn’t mentally ready to compete, while Sabalenka said she has some minor injuries.
“So I don’t know. I think there should be a harsher punishment on the players [for withdrawing], not just fines, they should be docked ranking points.”
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However, Sabalenka and Swiatek were defended by former world No 1 Andy Roddick and reigning French Open champion Coco Gauff with the latter saying players skip events in order to avoid burnout.
Sabalenka also missed the Qatar Open following her runners-up finish to Elena Rybakina at the Australian Open and only made her return at the Indian Wells Open at the beginning of March, but she went all the way to win the first leg of the Sunshine Double.
Leg two takes place in Miami this week and the four-time Grand Slam winner was asked about Tahlak’s comments and replied: “I think it’s ridiculous. I don’t think he showed himself in the best way possible.
“For me, it’s actually so sad to see that the tournament directors and the tournaments are not protecting us as players. They just care about their (sales), about their tournament, and that’s it.
“His comment was ridiculous. I’m not sure if I ever want to go there after his comment. For me it’s too much.”
Players have long complained about the demanding tennis schedule and Sabalenka had in the past suggested she could be forced to skip certain events in order to avoid burnout.
“Going into this season, we decided … to prioritise my health and make sure we have these little gaps in the schedule where I can reset, recharge, work and be better prepared for bigger tournaments,” the reigning US Open champion said.
“I feel like the scheduling is going crazy and that’s why you see so many players injured, always taped and not delivering the best quality matches because it’s almost impossible.”
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