Russia played fowl with their lineup today! @TennisPodcast @MattRobertsTTP explains it perfectly. If I was 🇨🇭 I would protest. This seems like a premeditated head to head manipulation that should not have been allowed given rankings and rules. 😡
"Russia played fowl with their lineup" says Pam Shriver on the Billie Jean King Cup Finals
WTAMonday, 08 November 2021 at 02:00
Team Russia won the 2021 Billie Jean King Cup after defeating Switzerland in the final yet tennis legend Pam Shriver had issues with it and she is not the only one.
The Billie Jean King Cup Finals did not happen without controversy as team Russian fielded a different player than the one that was initially set to play. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova was supposed to play Jill Teichmann in the first match however the Russian injured her knee and was unable to go. The Russians sent out Kasatkina instead and she smashed Teichmann easily.
The Swiss player was not happy after the event raising concerns over that sudden switch and the rules permitting it. The Swiss player had to adjust on the fly which tends to be very tricky especially in tennis where players usually prepare for their opponents in different ways. Tennis legend Pam Shriver seems to agree as she wrote on Twitter:
"Russia played fowl with their lineup today! @TennisPodcast@MattRobertsTTP explains it perfectly. If I was I would protest. This seems like a premeditated head-to-head manipulation that should not have been allowed given rankings and rules."
She further wrote:
"Amazing reporting by @MattRobertsTTP@TennisPodcast as now it feels Russia found a loophole in the rules…. This is a sad note for @BJKCup@ITFTennis why does the tennis establishment get fooled so much by the players?"
Teichmann also voiced her discontent on Twitter:
"Is it a compliment if you’re opponent has to cheat to beat you? 10 min before walk on… #BJKFinal"
The event has not yet publicly responded but it will be interesting to see if they amend the rules for the 2022 edition.
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