By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Monday, November 6, 2023
The WTA caused controversy staging its WTA Finals in Cancun.
Martina Navratilova believes major mis-steps in Cancun will create a corporate casualty.
Sabalenka: Very Disappointed with WTA
Hall of Famer Navratilova suggests WTA CEO Steve Simon is unlikely to survive the fall out from the Cancun calamity and asserts it's time for a woman to take over the Women's Tennis Association.
“Maybe it’s time for new leadership,” Navratilova told broadcaster Amazon Prime. “For me personally, this being a woman’s association and being involved for such a long time from the beginning, we’ve only had two women at the head of it.
“I think it’s time, hopefully, when we get a new leader, that it’s a woman. There’s plenty of them that are qualified for the job."
Critics have ripped the WTA over conditions in Cancun for the WTA Finals.
Though the Tour cites the WTA Finals as its crown jewel, the stadium was completed just days before the first round-robin match limiting player practice time.
The WTA reportedly chose Cancun over both Saudi Arabia and the Czech Republic to host the elite eight-woman singles event. That decision was made the first week of September, providing little turnaround time to build the temporary stadium in time for the start of the WTA Finals on October 29th.
In addition, extreme weather in October delayed construction of the temporary stadium.
Throughout the tournament, players have griped about dead spots on the court, inconsistent and sometimes funky bounces.
After annihilating Maria Sakkari 6-0, 6-1 in her opening round-robin match, Aryna Sabalenka blasted the WTA for conditions in Cancun saying "I really feel disrespected by the WTA."
“I'm happy that I was able to stay focused tonight, overcome the conditions, and play well,” Sabalenka wrote on social media. “I have to say though that I am very disappointed with the WTA and the experience so far at the WTA Finals.
"As I said in my press conference tonight, as a player I really feel disrespected by the WTA. I think most of us do. This is not the level of organization we expect for the Finals."
In response, Simon and WTA leaders admitted mistakes were made in Cancun and vowed to improve in a letter sent to WTA Finals competitors and published by BBC Sport.
"First and foremost, it is clear that you are not happy with the decision to be here in Cancun. I understand that and you have been heard," Simon wrote in the letter. "It is not a perfect event, we understand the conditions are a challenge and the WTA will of course accept responsibility for that."
Eighteen-time Grand Slam singles champion Navratilova suggests that admission of error is not good enough and believes Simon won't survive as WTA Chief.
"It’s going to be hard for Steve to stay in the job somehow, because everything is pointing the other way right now," Navratilova said.
Former BNP Paribas Open tournament director and chief operating officer Steve Simon succeeded Stacey Allaster as WTA CEO in November of 2015. During Simon's eight-year tenure, the WTA partnered with Hologic as its first title sponsor since Sony Ericsson.
In December of 2021, the WTA, led by Simon, suspended its partnership with China in condemnation of former doubles Grand Slam champion Peng Shuai's disappearance after she accused a high-ranking government official of sexual assault. The WTA subsequently ended its 16-month boycott of China earlier this year after enduring major financial losses coming after tennis was relaunching after the Coronavirus pandemic.
Unrest has prompted leading players to openly question the WTA decision makers and direction of the Tour on some issues.
"We are not happy with some things," four-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek said in Cancun. "I feel like everything is just based on wanting to have more and more, but not really taking care of our well-being and health.
“There are some things that the WTA could change for us without any impact on the tournaments and the things that they already agreed with the tournaments.”