Tennis fans around the world were not impressed with the explanation given by WTA CEO Steve Simon, following complaints regarding the subpar facilities at the year-ending WTA Finals.
Several players competing at the WTA Finals, including Elene Rybakina and Arya Rybakina, spoke out against the facilities and court conditions, labeling it as "unsafe". Soon afterwards, the WTA released a statement through Simon, defending their handling of the event.
Simon deflects blame, tennis fans doubt sincerity of statement
"First and foremost, it is clear that you are not happy with the decision to be here in Cancun," wrote Simon. "I understand that and you have been heard. As I have reflected to you, this is not where we expected to be and the decision for this location was based upon a number of complicated factors. It is not a perfect event, we understand the conditions are a challenge and the WTA will of course accepts responsibility for that."
Tennis fans were quick to point out errors in the statement, in addition to hoping the organization would do better in the future.
"This letter reads as though it was dashed off by an intern. It’s chock full of grammatical errors (“the WTA will of course accepts responsibility for that”, “best of luck for remainder of event”). Slipshod work," wrote one fan.
"Hopefully they will do some work and these are just not empty words," wrote another.
"He didn't actually say anything, just numbered all the complaints players already made," said an observant fan.
"Damn why's it riddled with grammatical errors😭.Also is this the 1st time the WTA has addressed the presence of those TV cameras in the player zones, the players def see it as an invasion of privacy, clips like the Sabalenka one shouldn't have been aired," said a frustrated user.
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