Aryna Sabalenka was left fuming after withdrawing from this year’s Dubai C’ships, as the tournament director criticised her for doing so. Reacting to the director’s comment, Sabalenka called it ‘ridiculous’.
Tournament director Salah Tahlak told reporters that strict action would be taken against Sabalenka for her late withdrawal, with ranking points to be docked.
‘I think it’s ridiculous’: Aryna Sabalenka
Speaking to reporters at the Miami Open, she said, “I think it’s ridiculous.”
The Belarusian questioned the director’s decision not to protect players, accusing him of only caring about sales.
“I don’t think he showed himself in the best way possible. For me it’s actually so sad to see that the tournament directors and the tournaments not protecting us as players. They just care about their (sales), about their tournament and that’s it”, she said.
“His comment was ridiculous. I’m not sure if I ever want to go there after his comment. For me it’s too much.”
Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and several other players pulled out due to injury, illness or scheduling changes. Due to their withdrawals, lucky losers had to fill the depleted main draw.
Sabalenka also skipped the Doha event this year. Explaining her decision, she revealed that this season her main priority is to focus on her health, so that she can ‘reset, recharge, work and be better prepared for bigger tournaments’.
“Going into this season, we decided … to prioritise my health and make sure we have these little gaps in the schedule where I can reset, recharge, work and be better prepared for bigger tournaments”, she said.
Calling this year’s tennis schedule ‘crazy’, she added, “I feel like the scheduling is going crazy and that’s why you see so many players injured, always taped and not delivering the best quality matches because it’s almost impossible.”