The tournament director of the Dubai Tennis Championships believes the use of fines for players withdrawing late from tournaments is not effective and has called for tougher restrictions to be implemented.
Salah Tahlak made the remarks during the draw ceremony of the WTA 1000 event on Sunday, in which he described the absence of the Tour’s two highest-ranked players as ‘strange.’ In a statement issued via the tournament, world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka said on Friday that she won’t be playing due to ‘not feeling 100%.’ Meanwhile, Iga Swiatek has cited a change in schedule as the reason for her decision not to play.
Players who withdraw from mandatory WTA 1000 events can be subjected to penalties if they don’t have a valid reason for not playing, such as an injury or illness. They are permitted to skip an event due to a change of schedule three times in a season, which incurs a zero-pointer but no fine.
“It was an unfortunate surprise last night 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,” The National quoted Tahlak as saying.
“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.
“I even asked the [tournament] doctor, what is the injury? He said it’s a minor injury, not one that would force her to withdraw from the tournament. And for Iga, I asked, ‘Isn’t this a strange decision?’
Both Sabalenka and Swiatek have been outspoken critics of the tournament calendar and the number of events they have to play. They have also previously lost points for failing to meet the quota, but they are prepared to do so again in order to look after their health.
Under the current rules, top players must participate in four Grand Slams, 10 WTA 1000 events, six WTA 500s and the WTA Finals if they qualify.
“I struggled last season, where some of the tournaments I played really sick or really exhausted from over-playing,” Sabalenka told reporters last month at the Brisbane International.
“This season we will try to manage it a little bit better, even though they may fine me by the end of the season. It is tricky to do that. You cannot skip a 1000 event. It is really tricky.
“I think it is insane what they do. I think they just follow their interests but they are not focusing on protecting all of us.”
These concerns have failed to ease criticism from Tahlak, who insists that a fine isn’t enough to punish players and believes they should lose points as well.
“I think a fine will not do anything,” he argues.
“I feel they should deduct points from the players. A monetary fine won’t help. Many years ago, Serena Williams withdrew and was fined $100,000. But what is $100,000? She would play someplace else and make $1,000,000. So the fine isn’t a big deal.
“We have a meeting coming up in Rome and I want to shed light on this issue. We have a representative on behalf of the international group [of tournaments] to speak for us with the WTA. Because it’s a shame that we’re spending these huge amounts to upgrade our facilities and in the end the players are the main part (of this tournament).”
Tahlak’s comments provide an extra headache for the WTA, which insists that “athlete welfare is always a top priority” when quizzed about the Tour schedule. There have also been similar comments made from the men’s Tour from high-profile figures such as Carlos Alcaraz, who said last October the amount of tournaments he and his peers have to play is ‘too high.’
Despite the withdrawal of Sabalenka and Swiatek, Dubai will still feature 16 out of the world’s top 20 players in its draw.
