"It’s just a disappointment": Marketa Vondrousova becomes latest player to condem conditions at 2023 WTA Finals

Marketa Vondrousova has become the latest player to condemn the conditions at the 2023 WTA Finals in Cancun, following criticism from Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka.

The reigning Wimbledon champion is making her debut at the WTA Finals in Mexico but has been left disappointed by the conditions in which she and her fellow players are expected to compete. After the location was announced, the WTA pledged $6 million to help build a new stadium but construction work remained unfinished as the Finals drew closer and players began arriving in Cancun.

As a result, the Top 8 players of the season were forced to share two hotel practice courts until the day before the tournament began and several have since criticized the conditions in the stadium, saying they feel unsafe.

The World No. 6 lost her first group-stage match against second seed Iga Swiatek in straight sets yesterday, October 30. Following her defeat, the Czech player took to social media to blast the WTA.

"My first WTA Finals is not at all what I imagined. We worked hard all year to get to the Finals and in the end it’s just a disappointment," she wrote on Instagram, "Stadium is not at all ready for the matches and to me it feels like the people from the WTA are absolutely not interested in how we, who are supposed to play on that court, feel. We do not feel that anyone listens to us and is interested in our opinions. Very sad."

This comes after Sabalenka also shared her criticism on Instagram, writing that the conditions were "disappointing" and unsafe.

"I am very disappointed with the WTA and the experience so far at the WTA Finals. As a player, I feel disrespected by the WTA. I think most of us do. This is not the level of organisation we expect for the Finals.

"To be honest, I don’t feel safe moving on this court a lot of the time, the bounce is not consistent at all, and we weren’t able to practice on this court until yesterday for the first time. It’s just not acceptable to me with so much on the line and so much at stake," she wrote.

Moreover, World No. 4 Rybakina added her concern.

"I’m not really happy with the conditions and the set up of the tournament. About the court, I don’t really want to talk. But of course, it’s not good.

"For sure not for the final eight because everything was late and there was no time to fix anything. You can see by the rallies and the shanks we both hit. I think the quality of the match wasn’t the greatest. But as I said, I tried to do my best," she said.