"Skinny", "sucks" - no tournaments for the WTA professionals
While the tennis men are playing two tournaments in Cologne and are looking forward to a packed autumn, many women are forced to go on vacation. The organizers of the WTA tour are under criticism.
by SID
last edit: Oct 14, 2020, 12:26 pm
When Laura Siegemund looks at the tournament calendar for the rest of the year, one darn word catches her eye: "canceled". While the male colleagues around Alexander Zverev are currently kicking off a packed autumn tennis season in Cologne, the women are forced to put their feet up and can plan their vacation. "It's pretty meager what's on offer," Siegemund complained in an interview with the SID.
The fact that there are huge gaps in the calendar of the women's tour WTA due to the corona pandemic and that there are only sparse substitute tournaments in contrast to the men is not so wild for Siegemund at first. Germany's strongest player in shape uses the break to protect her ailing back. But elsewhere, the criticism of the WTA is all the louder.
"It sucks that the season is already over for us," said US-American Sofia Kenin after the lost final of the French Open: "I really wish there were more tournaments." And Julia Görges was surprised to find out after her departure in Paris: "Our calendar is already quite bare."
Double Zverev ration in Cologne
Two smaller tournaments are still on the agenda. In the coming week the women will be playing in Ostrava in the Czech Republic, from November 9th a tournament was organized in Linz / Austria at short notice. But this is no comparison to the men's tour ATP: Although it returned from the corona break two weeks later, it still offers ten tournaments until the end of the season, including the Masters in Paris and the ATP Finals in London.
The WTA would have had a chance and enough time for a high-quality replacement after the lucrative Asia tour including the season finale in Shenzhen was completely canceled in July. "That is also a mystery to me. One or two tournaments would have been possible in Germany", said Siegemund, underscoring a statement by Barbara Rittner, who is the tournament director of the two men's tournaments in Cologne (until October 25) .
"We got in touch with the WTA Tour because there are also a lot of deadlines for the women," said Rittner recently in the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger: "Unfortunately, she reacted too slowly." The ATP took advantage of this and took over both tournaments - instead of Angelique Kerber and Görges, there is double the amount of Zverev in Cologne.
Siegemund complains about a lack of information
Siegemund, who recently won the doubles title at the US Open and only failed in the quarter-finals of the classic clay court in Paris, believes that something will change in the short term in the unsatisfactory situation. "Both we players and the tournament organizers need time in advance to plan and prepare for a tournament," said the Swabian.
The communication of the WTA also appears to be in need of improvement. "I have explicitly asked again several times, but have not received any new information," said Siegemund: "We are presented with the tournament schedule and are informed. The reasons why such a hole appears and we are virtually jobless are not always discussed."