The WTA has been accused of showing 'a dreadful lack of consideration' for players after choosing to host the
WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico when the
Billie Jean King Cup Finals start in Spain just a couple of days later.
The WTA announced yesterday, Thursday, September 7, that the prestigious event where the top eight women's players in singles and doubles face off against each other will be held in Cancun, Mexico.
This comes after weeks of debate as the two frontrunners appeared to be Prague, the capital city of the Czech Republic, and Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia.
Limited travel between Cancun and Seville
Since the announcement was made, several fans have drawn attention to the fact that players will have a very tight turnaround from the end of the tournament on November 5 to travel halfway across the world to the city of Seville, Spain for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, which start on November 7.
For this reason, many have criticized the WTA for not thinking ahead enough and scheduling the Finals for a European country from where travel would be much shorter and less complicated.
Indeed, Stuart Fraser, a tennis correspondent for The Times, has now pointed out that there are no direct flights between Cancun and Seville. They were responding to a tweet that highlighted the difficulty of traveling so far in such a short space of time:
"52 days before the event [WTA Finals] they finally found somewhere to hold it. Finals of main team event named in honour of Billie Jean King is 7 time zones away in Seville immediately afterwards. Shambles."
In response, Fraser added:
"Just checked there… no direct flights from Cancun to Seville available for those who wish to play both the WTA Finals and Billie Jean King Cup Finals. Private jets obviously an option but once again the WTA has shown a dreadful lack of consideration for what follows."
So far, three players have qualified for the 2023 WTA Finals. They are Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, and Elena Rybakina. In doubles, Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff have also qualified.