The chief coach of Dayana Yastremska has insisted that the world No.21 had been suffering from a problem with her leg after it was alleged that she deliberate called a medical time out to disrupt her opponent’s momentum.
The 23rd seed crashed out of the Australian Open in straight sets on Wednesday to Caroline Wozniacki. Despite having a double break advantage during both of those sets. Towards the end of the match, proceedings were halted when Yastremska sought medical assistance. She called for a trainer whilst trailing 5-7, 4-5. Prompting the former world No.1 to question her motives on the court.
“Obviously she tried to break my rhythm. And at 5-4 I don’t think there is anything wrong. She was running just fine. So that’s a trick that she’s done before, and I knew that it was coming.” Wozniacki commented during her press conference.
“But I was just trying to stay focused. I had match point. I had chances. I didn’t take them. Some of them she played well; some of them I played too passively.’
“In the end I just tried to keep focusing, just keep grinding, keep hanging in there. And I finally made it at 6-5 for me, and that was a nice relief.”
Despite the timeout, it had little impact on the outcome. With the soon-to-be-retired Wozniacki prevailing 7-5, 7-5. A case of sweet revenge for the Dane who lost to Yastremska last year in Cincinnati.
The allegations made against the 19-year-old has prompted a furious response from her coach Sascha Bajin on social media. Bajin is best known for previously guiding Naomi Osaka to both of her grand slam titles and has also previously worked with Kristina Mladenovic.
“Just to shut some people up and end this useless convo. Dayana was really struggling since days with her leg, but since y’all are all doctors and coaches you know better then she herself or our whole team who’s working with her.” He wrote on Twitter.
Historically, Yastremska does have a history of taking late media timeouts during matches. In the final of the Thailand Open last year, she requested a break whilst down 2-5 in the final set of the title match. Upon resumption, she went on to win the title. Meanwhile, Kiki Bertens also previously cast shade on her rival.
“Well, I played her three times and three times it happened, so that’s my answer,” The Dutch player said earlier this month during the Brisbane International.
Yastremska have won three WTA titles so far in her career with two of those triumphs occurring last year. It is the first time she has failed to win back-to-back matches at a grand slam since the French Open.
