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Aryna Sabalenka said she may not return to the Dubai Championships again after the director of the WTA 1000 tournament criticised her withdrawal earlier this year and called for tougher punishments for players who skip events.
Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek were among some of the top players to miss the Dubai tournament in February, with the World No 1 explaining that she wanted to manage her schedule after reaching the Australian Open final in January and did not feel “100 per cent”.
Sabalenka and Swiatek’s decision to pull out of the WTA 1000 event was announcement at the same time, and was greeted with a sharp rebuke from Dubai tournament director Salah Tahlak. He called on both players to be docked points in an interview with The National.
Under WTA rules, top women’s players are obliged to compete in all four grand slams and10 WTA 1000 tournaments as well as at least six WTA 500 events, but Sabalenka - who branded the tennis season as “insane” in January - said that she doesn’t think that schedule is possible.
And the four-time grand slam champion hit back at Tahlak’s comments by suggesting she may not return to the Dubai tournament in the future. “I think it's ridiculous,” Sabalenka said ahead of the Miami Open on Tuesday, where she is the defending champion.
“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.
“His comment was ridiculous. I'm not sure if I ever want to go there after his comment. For me it's too much.”
After losing the Australian Open final to Elena Rybakina, Sabalenka skipped Doha and Dubai before returning to action at the next WTA 1000 event at Indian Wells. The Belarusian defeated Rybakina in the final to win her first Indian Wells title, having also announced her engagement and revealing that she had recently got a puppy, Ash, the previous week.
“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,” Sabalenka 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.”