"I don't think it looks good for the World Number One not to have a bye": Rybakina explains resentment of introducing performance byes

Kazakhstan’s tennis star Elena Rybakina has stated that she does not agree with the usage of the performance byes system for the main draw of any competition.

The newly introduced system was used during the Tokyo Open where players, despite their lower seedings, were given a spot in the second round because of their recent performances.

One of the players who suffered because of that was Rybakina, who despite seeding third, was forced to play in the first round. However, she ended up withdrawing because of illness.

The Moscow-born was recently quoted in a report where she stated that with the use of performance byes, there might be a case where the world number one will be forced to play in the first round of a WTA event just because of her recent outing.

“In Tokyo I was not happy,” she said. “They did not inform me about the performance bye. What was written on the information sheet & everywhere is that in Tokyo there would be between four and six performance byes, what she did not explain was whether they would add two additional byes or remove one.

“Here the rule is a little different & it was explained a little better. I don't think it would be good to put this rule only at the end of the season because we had a lot of events like this. I don't think it looks good for the world number one not to have a bye.

“This is something to discuss with the players & see how it is going to be the rule in the future because it has not been fulfilled for four years. That is why many players, especially young players, did not know it. It is not that difficult to explain how it is going to work, that is why many players are not happy.”