Tennis Player Anna Kalinskaya Voices Frustration
Tennis player Anna Kalinskaya took to social media to express her frustration with both the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and the organizers of the Cincinnati Open regarding the tournament’s scheduling practices. After a thrilling round of 16 match where she came from behind to beat Ekaterina Alexandrova, Kalinskaya was slated to face Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals. However, due to inclement weather in Cincinnati, including lightning delays that pushed back match schedules, her match against Alexandrova wrapped up at a late hour, around 2:40 a.m.
Concerns Over Scheduling
Despite benefiting from a day off before her next match, Kalinskaya voiced her discontent over being scheduled to play at 11 a.m. the following day, questioning how the WTA expected athletes to perform at their best under these circumstances. She detailed her experience after the late match, stating:
“After my match against Alexandrova, I returned home at 2:40 a.m. and didn’t get to sleep until around 4 a.m. then had to come to the site for practice. It seems unreasonable to expect players like me to adjust our sleep schedules so rapidly.”
Kalinskaya’s concerns highlight a broader issue within the sport regarding schedule fairness. While it is understandable why she would anticipate a later slot after a grueling late finish, notable sports commentator Jose Morgado explained that the scheduling logistics were complicated by other high-profile matches, particularly one featuring Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina. He noted that the tournament had to prioritize matches based on their importance, which led to the earlier scheduling for Kalinskaya, despite the hours involved in her previous match.
Ongoing Conversations About Player Welfare
This moment is a continuation of ongoing conversations within tennis about player welfare and scheduling. Kalinskaya is not alone in her discontent; Alejandro Davidovich Fokina also expressed his issues with early match times at the 2025 Canadian Open, leading to some public disputes with fellow players over the nature of tournament scheduling. Nonetheless, while there have certainly been instances of problematic scheduling in the sport, the cases raised by Kalinskaya and Davidovich Fokina might not be deemed excessively unfair by many observers.
