A Rafael Nadal Tennis Academy graduate Abdullah Shelbayh has blasted the Nottingham Open for switching surfaces midway through his qualifying match at the event.
Rain in England is fairly common and matches being suspended because of it also common. We pretty much see it happen every year yet this time around it left one tennis player particularly disappointed. Shelbayh was playing a very tight match against Joris De Loor at the Nottingham Challenger with rain-stopping play.
Instead of opting to wait and see what happens, the organizers pressed on with the schedule telling the players to finish off their match on indoor hard courts which certainly benefitted De Loore more. The Dutch player was able to finish off the match and Shelbayh was not impressed about it voicing his frustration on Instagram:
“One hour and 30 minutes played on outdoor grass. Play got suspended and the tournament directors and supervisors didn’t even wait till the last delay to play outdoors just because they wanna go home,” he stated via a story posted on his Instagram account. Somehow, we end up continuing the match indoors hard without even hardcourt shoes.”
The Jordanian then blasted the event organizers calling the move disgraceful and the organization horrendous:
“Great Job. @atpchallengertour maybe it’s time for you guys to do something about this horrendous organization in a tournament of that category. Absolutely disgraceful."
He didn't leave out the ATP either as he slammed them and their staff for the way they handle these complaints as he anticipates getting fined for his comments:
“We end up getting fined while the supervisors and tournament directors eat and sleep and earn money."
It's an unfortunate sequence of events but it's not something that is totally out of the ordinary for tennis. This has been common practice in the past but if nothing perhaps Shelbayh and Kyrgios end up being good friends.
A Rafael Nadal Tennis Academy graduate Abdullah Shelbayh calls out ATP Challenger Nottingham for switching surfaces mid match: “1 hour & 30 minutes played on outdoor grass. Play got suspended.. Somehow, we end up continuing the match indoors hard without hardcourt shoes.” Wow.
