2023-11-11 15:43:26
The opening ceremony of the ATP Finals was everything an event of this style deserves. Each of the eight masters appeared at the Palazzo Reale in Turin with a different look, ready for a red carpet surrounded by fans and while a play of lights painted the walls of the 16th century palace.
It was the icing on the cake to a previous week far from everything that was seen in the WTA Finals. The Pala Alpitour in Turin was ready several days before and there, without the atmospheric conditions influencing it, the Alcaraz, Djokovic, Medvedev, Rublev and company trained without problems.
Quite the opposite, to Cancún, where the teachers found a half-finished tournament. The WTA, due to the problems it had with China and which forced it to cancel the agreement it had with Shenzhen, did not award the tournament to the Mexican city until two months before it began. The organization was a disaster, with the main court unfinished when the tennis players arrived, in addition to the fact that the storms were constant throughout the week and did not allow regular and consistent play.
“I don’t know whether to laugh or cry,” said Aryna Sabalenka. “This is very sad,” added Marketa Vondrousova. The complaints led the WTA to apologize: “It was not a perfect tournament and we accept responsibility,” said Steve Simon, president of the WTA.
This increases the chances that Saudi Arabia will take over the tournament starting next season, as it does not have a fixed headquarters as it does with the men’s tournament, since more and more voices are calling for a merger between the ATP and the WTA that ensures the equality and survival of both circuits.
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