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World no.1 Aryna Sabalenka started the WTA Finals in Cancun well, overwhelming the Greek Maria Sakkari, who took the place of the injured Karolina Muchova. The Belarusian tennis player defeated her opponent with the final score of 6-0, 6-1 and began her journey in the Bacalar Group with a clear and important victory.
Despite her success, Sabalenka did not like the behavior reserved for the eight WTA qualifiers. The location of the tournament was decided with a guilty delay and the works for the construction of the facility that hosts the matches found their epilogue a few hours before the start of the tournament.
The tennis players therefore did not have the opportunity to fully test the far from idyllic conditions of the Estadio Paradisus.
Aryna Sabalenka slams the WTA: "It disrespected all of us"
At the press conference, the Belarusian explained her point of view: "This is not the level of organization you would expect from a tournament like this.
I honestly don't feel confident when I move into this field. The bounce of the ball is not smooth at all, and I didn't have the chance to practice on the Central until the day before the tournament started. This is not acceptable in a situation where the stakes are so high.
Having said all this, I would like to show my appreciation to the tournament organizers, everyone who helped build this course last minute and worked on the event this week. I know perfectly well that the mistake is not yours, I want this to be very clear.
Just as it's not the fault of the Mexican fans who came to see us, who I love and respect a lot. I'm very happy to be in Mexico, but I'm disappointed with the WTA and this whole situation. As I said in my last press conference, as a player I felt that the WTA disrespected me.
I think most of us have felt that way." Sabalenka is one of the favourite for the final victory in Cancun, and she will play for the title win especially with her opponents Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff.