Today's Edition
Kuumar Shyam (Abu Dhabi)
A day after Daria Kasatkina hit out at the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) for their scheduling after going through three-set matches on successive days at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open, the Russian bowed out tamely to top seed Elena Rybakina 6-1, 6-4.
Kazakhstan’s Rybakina nudged ahead in their head-to-head record after winning the fifth meeting against the seventh seed. The victory in the WTA500 category event at Zayed Sports City’s International Tennis Centre is Rybakina’s second title of the year after Brisbane International, seventh overall, and made up for her shock second-round defeat at the Australian Open.
The Elena Rybakina Honor Roll 📜
— wta (@WTA) February 11, 2024
🏆 Bucharest 2019
🏆 Hobart 2020
🏆 Wimbledon 2022
🏆 Indian Wells 2023
🏆 Rome 2023
🏆 Brisbane 2024
🏆 ABU DHABI 2024#MubadalaAbuDhabiOpen pic.twitter.com/SyDoADeXXH
The blustery conditions put a cloud of doubt on the proceedings, but by the time Rybakina and Kasatkina stepped out on court, the sun was making an attempt to break through the clouds for the first time, a huge slice of good fortune for those packed inside the stadium.
Kasatkina refused to put the defeat to the conditions or the scheduling, even as she rushed her exit to reach Doha, Qatar, for her next engagement. She is due on court on Monday for her opening-round clash with fellow Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at the Qatar Open.
On Saturday, she said the WTA should consider the scheduling such that a tournament “finishes on Saturday before a Monday start... or have a first-round bye for players like us, something like that,” she said, before clarifying apologetically that it was nothing against the Abu Dhabi organisers, but a general overview of the calendar.
She added: “I hope this question will be addressed to the right people. And I’m not crying, I’m just saying the facts. Are you guys trying to make players die, or to get injured often?” Rybakina, who has a bye in the second round in Qatar, also sympathised with the runner-up. “It’s been a tough week, especially the last matches, and tomorrow is already a match in Doha [for Kasatkina],” she said.
“Hopefully we both recover and do well there and maybe play the final there. I want to thank all the fans who came to support us. It’s been an amazing atmosphere and especially to see the flags from Kazakhstan it really means a lot.”
The 2022 Wimbledon champion has been in ominous form over the course of the competition, overcoming the likes of Danielle Collins and Liudmila Samsonova on her way to the final. She started the match in similar fashion, breaking Kasatkina in her first service game to take control of the set, subsequently overpowering her opponent in every area to win it in effortless style.
Kasatkina responded well in the second and matched her opponent for much of the set. With the score level at 4-4, however, Rybakina forced a break which proved decisive as she held her serve in the following game to prevail.
Kasatkina, who defeated Beatriz Haddad Maia in a gruelling semi-final that lasted nearly three hours, said on Sunday: “Did I have enough in the tank for the final? I squeezed everything that I had left and it wasn’t enough against a player like Elena... you have to be at your best to have a chance to beat her.
“It is unfortunate that the tournament ended this way, but there’s a lot of positives in the week. There’s nothing to be sad about but, of course, it’s always disappointing to lose in a final.”
Meanwhile, American pairing of Sofia Kenin and Bethanie Mattek-Sands, meanwhile, were crowned doubles champions courtesy of a straight-sets victory over Linda Noskova and Heather Watson. The flow of the contest was disrupted by rain with the players forced off-court on two separate occasions during a first set which Kenin and Mattek-Sands, winners of the 2019 China Open, eventually clinched 6-4.
The second set was equally tight, with Noskova and Watson attempting to take it to a third, and there were big opportunities to do so as they passed up three set points. They were ultimately made to pay, though, as the set went to a tie-break which Kenin and Mattek-Sands edged to clinch the trophy.
A few words from the champ 🎤
— wta (@WTA) February 11, 2024
Elena Rybakina 🏆 #MubadalaAbuDhabiOpen pic.twitter.com/r4mZCTgQZW
