“That sucks, honestly”: Daria Kasatkina slams WTA for Eastbourne Open downgrade

Daria Kasatkina criticised the WTA's decision to downgrade the Eastbourne Open from a WTA 500 to a WTA 250 event. The defending champion plays her first-round match on Monday as the tournament’s top seed and one of only five top-30 players in the draw.

Eastbourne had held WTA 500 status since the category’s creation, but this year it was downgraded to a WTA 250, reducing the ranking points available to players. The WTA’s recent regulation changes only allow one WTA 500 event to be held per week, which this time favoured the Bad Homburg Open.

“That sucks, honestly. I don't understand this decision,” said the Australian-based Russian ahead of her opening match. “I think Eastbourne is one of the oldest tournaments we've got on tour. It's a tournament with big history. As I remember, it was always a 500, so it's a very nice tournament, and I just didn't see the reason to downgrade it to a 250.”

“Also, you know, Bad Homburg is a very good tournament as well, so I think they deserve to be a 500, but not at the price of another good tournament being downgraded. That’s the issue. On the ATP side, there’s no problem having two 500s in the same week. I honestly don't see why it’s a problem for us.”

Under the current WTA rules, only one top-10 player is allowed to compete in a WTA 250 tournament, and top-30 players are required to enter WTA 500 events when both categories are held in the same week. However, exceptions can apply – such as if the player is the defending champion (as in Kasatkina’s case), or by using a ‘play-down exemption’, which allows top-30 players to enter a WTA 250 twice per year even if they could qualify for a 500 event.

The rule aims to ensure that the larger events consistently feature the highest-ranked players, while WTA 250s provide more opportunities for lower-ranked players to earn points and climb the rankings. Still, Kasatkina expressed disagreement with the approach.

“The top players would prefer a 500, basically also because if you're, let's say, top five, you almost 100% get a bye in a 500. In 250s, there are no byes, so you get fewer points for more matches,” she explained. “And then there's the money as well, but performance-wise, it’s less reward for more effort. That’s the issue. I honestly don’t understand why we have byes in 500s but not in 250s. That just doesn’t make sense.”

“Right now, we’re here, and unfortunately this beautiful tournament was downgraded. But it’s still improving every year. They’ve increased the prize money – it’s the biggest purse of any 250 on the WTA calendar, so that’s cool. They’re doing their best. I really love this tournament.”

“The people here are amazing, the crowd is great, and personally, I enjoy the city too. So, for me, coming back here every year is just a pure joy.”

Kasatkina is defending 500 points earned from last year’s title, so even if she wins the tournament again, she will lose half of those points due to the event’s downgraded status. Dasha begins her campaign on Monday against New Zealand’s Lulu Sun, a Wimbledon quarterfinalist in 2023.