26-Year-Old Russian Tennis Beauty Brings Out the Ugliness of WTA 250 Tournaments as ‘Stupid Rules’ Threaten Their Long-Term Survival

After the grass court season, the Russian tennis player, Daria Kasatkina, made her mark at the Palermo Open with some stellar performances on the court. After a great display of her prowess in the initial rounds, the top-seed was stunned by the Italian star Jasmine Paolini in their quarterfinal matchup. However, more than her recent performances, it was Kasatkina’s criticism of the WTA authorities that caught the attention of the tennis community.

The 26-year-old player recently lashed out at the strict rules of not allowing any top 10 players to participate in the tournament. Speaking about the same, she also expressed her displeasure with the restrictions, which are exclusive to the women’s circuit.

Daria Kasatkina lashes out at the ‘stupid rules’ of the WTA 250 tournaments

In her on-court interview at the Palermo Ladies Open, the Russian tennis star was quite blunt in her assessment of the strict rules in the WTA 250 tournaments. Daria Kasatkina was irked by their decision to not invite “top famous players” to the event.

A fan recently took to Twitter and posted a video clip of the Russian lambasting the WTA. She said, “Yes, here at the WTA 250, the top 10 players are not allowed at all. There are very strict rules about how many WTA 250 top 10 players can play. That’s why it is very difficult for these tournaments to survive. I just don’t understand these stupid rules. They are only in the WTA, not the ATP. In WTA, it is forbidden to play WTA 250 for top 10, only 2 per year, maximum”

Later, Kasatkina was also asked if she would like to see any major changes in the strict rules of the WTA. She answered, “Oh, yes, they decided to change on the wrong side. I just don’t understand, you are top 10. You can play two tournaments WTA250 a year. And only if there are no other top 10 in these tournaments. So there can be only one top 10 player on one WTA 250. I don’t understand how do these tournaments make money, if they can’t even invite top famous players”

The 26-year-old player further questioned the exclusivity of these rules in the women’s circuit.

Kasatkina asserted there are no such restrictions in the men’s circuit

During the conversation, the Russian player opened up about how the tennis authorities sometimes allow some of the top 10 ATP players to participate in the 250 tournaments. Due to the same, the ATP tournaments always managed to entice more viewership for their matches. She said, “Because in ATP all these small tournaments, Small tournaments I mean category 250. They can sometimes even have 2 top 10 players. And people will come, they will watch, and there will be broadcasts”

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Kasatkina added, “Of course, if no one plays at all, if no one is allowed to play, then it’s-clear that nothing like that will happen.”

What do you think of the WTA player’s recent criticism of the rules? Let us know in the comments section.

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