Caroline Garcia says the move to expand WTA 1000 events to two weeks has left her feeling ‘frustrated’ after crashing out of the Madrid Open. 

Garcia, who was the 12th seed in the draw, fell 6-3, 6-2, to Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in the third round on Sunday. It is the first time she has failed to win back-to-back matches at a tournament since Indian Wells where she also lost in the same round. 

Speaking to reporters after her latest defeat, the Frenchwoman has hit out at Madrid’s two-week schedule. This year is the second in a row that the event has been granted the status of a two-week event for both men and women. Following the likes of Miami and Indian Wells which has been doing so for many years. 

However, Garcia believes there are drawbacks to the format. As a seed, she received a bye in the first round and didn’t play her opening match until last Friday. 

“We’ve been here for a week and we’ve played two matches. It moves slowly, you don’t do much, you wait… ” Punto de Break quoted the world No.24 as saying.
“This format is a bit frustrating. Some might resonate with it, but I can’t.”

Supporters of the two-week schedule argue that it gives players more time to prepare between matches. The WTA has previously said the increase along with the ATP ‘demonstrates a clearer alignment across both tours.’ 

Garcia isn’t the only player to raise concerns about the schedule during this year’s Madrid Open. Another to do so is former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina who has called for changes to be made to the Tour calendar to improve the quality of matches and reduce the threat of players getting injured.

 Immediately after Madrid will be the Italian Open and then a week after that event ends the French Open begins.

“For us, it’s very difficult schedule, that’s for sure. Of course, people want to see quality matches. It’s not easy to perform when you are travelling so much and you have week-by-week tournaments,” Rybakina told the Tennis Channel after beating Mayar Sherif.
“I think the most important thing to have this consistency so the players don’t get injured, that’s the most important so I will say just to make it a little bit easier on us just health-wise.”

There are currently 10 WTA 1000 events on the calendar. According to the rulebook, players must play in those if they are accepted into the singles Main Draw at the Tournament’s entry deadline if they are fit to do so. 

Ons Jabeur says she is bothered by those who are ‘super ignorant’ about Saudi Arabia with the WTA Finals heading to the country later this year. 

The world No.9 has reiterated her support behind the premier event of the women’s Tour heading to the Middle Eastern nation despite concerns raised by some. Critics have accused Saudi Arabia of sportswashing which is the process of using sport to improve a reputation that has been tarnished by wrongdoing. Concerns have been raised about human rights in the country, especially for women and those from the LGBT community. 

Earlier this year, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert co-wrote an opinion piece for the Washington Post warning against a move to the country. Prompting anger from Saudi Arabia with its ambassador to America, Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, highlighting improvements made to women’s rights in a two-page statement posted on social media. However, Navratilova recently stated that she has no plans to work in the country as a pundit. 

Amid the debate, Jabeur told reporters in Madrid on Saturday that she is ‘proud’ of the WTA Finals being held in Saudi Arabia and believes it will help inspire a new generation of players. 

“I am always honestly biased in this position here and the decision they took. I’m very happy to be there. As an Arab woman, I’m very proud some things are moving there in Saudi,” she said after beating Leylah Fernandez 7-5, 2-6, 6-4. 
“Obviously people could have a different opinion. Where it bothers me is that when some people, they don’t know what’s really happening there, and are super ignorant about what’s really happening in Saudi.
“So as Princess Reema said, You should come to Saudi, be there, and judge yourself.”

One of Jabeur’s sponsors is fitness and welfare brand Kayanee which is owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund. According to the company, their goal is to ‘promote quality of life for women.’ 

“Obviously I wish to see better comments (about Saudi Arabia),” she continued. 
“For me, it always has been about chances, and going there not just to play tennis matches but to give the opportunity especially for younger women to see their role models from before and to believe that they can achieve anything.”

In recent days a series of meetings have been held in Madrid between tennis bosses and representatives from Saudi Arabia concerning the future of the sport. The country has expressed interest in hosting a Masters 1000 event but the ATP had to issue a statement last Friday saying that no official decision has taken place. Should they get the green light, one possibility is the Saudi event could be held in February which would have a massive negative impact on the South American swing. There have also been talks about the proposed Premium Tour. 

Shortly before this year’s Madrid Open began, it was confirmed that the PIF had signed a multi-year sponsorship deal with the tournament. The deal follows similar agreements with events in  Indian Wells, Miami and the Nitto ATP Finals, in addition to the Beijing ATP 500 event, and the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF. The PIF is also a Platinum Partner of the ATP and has naming rights to its official rankings. 

Heading into the Madrid Open Ons Jabeur was seen training with the help of a familiar face from the world of Spanish tennis. 

This week the Tunisian has enlisted the help of former top 10 player Fernando Verdasco, who won seven ATP titles during his career and reached the semi-finals of the 2009 Australian Open. Their partnership is expected to only last the duration of the tournament with Jaber’s full-time coach, Issam Jellali, unable to attend the event. 

“I’m trying to get the Spanish mentality on the clay, apparently it’s not that bad to play with that,” Jabeur told reporters on Thursday.
“We’re close friends and he just had his third baby, so we’re having the energy of a new baby in the team. It’s nice to have him, I’ve always been a fan of him as a player, but also as a person because he has such amazing energy. He’s helping me this week, so hopefully we can have more matches together.”

Jabeur’s latest collaboration has got off to a winning start in Madrid after she outlasted Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, in a marathon encounter. It is only her fourth win during what has been a lacklustre start to the season. Last week in Stuttgart, she ended a run of five straight losses on the Tour. In recent weeks, the world No.9 has been troubled by a flare-up of a knee injury. 

The hope for Jabeur is that she will be able to get back on track in Madrid which is an event she won back in 2022 and it is still the most prestigious title of her career to date. 

“I was joking with Aryna (Sabalenka), I was like, she won it in 2021, I won it in 2022, she won it in 2023, and I’m like, it’s time for me in 2024, it’s like back and forth, you know,” said Jabeur.
“I enjoy playing here, especially when I really find my rhythm because I feel like the small altitude here really helps.”. 

Jabeur will next play Leylah Fernandez in the third round on Saturday.