Elena Rybakina is stuck in a women’s tennis rage! But how, just a few days ago, the 24-year-old tennis star went against the WTA to raise a concern? However, her issue has now turned into a controversy, and she is facing the consequences of going against the WTA. Currently, while the Grand Slam champion is playing at the Beijing Open, the Kazakhstani tennis star has been snubbed by the association.
Nevertheless, a lot of tennis fans have shared their reactions to Rybakina being left out, even after making it to the quarterfinals of the tournament. Let’s take a look at what the fans have to say regarding the WTA’s actions against the fifth-ranked tennis player.
Tennis fans foul-cry over Elena Rybakina snub from the WTA
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Recently, a fan who has been following the Kazakhstani tennis star’s performance at the Beijing Open took to his Twitter account to share a weird act of the WTA that caught his attention. He shared a screenshot of the WTA YouTube page, which had some of the recent match highlights.
In that screenshot, there were Jessica Pegula, Aryna Sabalenka, Maria Sakkari, and all the other tennis players who were part of the tournament, leaving the 24-year-old tennis player’s matches off their YouTube page.
Looking into that, a concern was raised with the caption, “3 matches played this week and still no highlights posted of Elena match.”
I guess the fight with the WTA still continue with Elena Rybakina.
3 matches played this week and still no highlights posted of Elena match.
Whereas Elena are in generally one of the most viewed…
Strange from WTA…#ChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/xxrycUkwTP— Sebastien G. (Main account was suspended) (@sebsharfam2) October 4, 2023
After this, fans flooded the comment section with their views on the Grand Slam champion being ignored by the WTA just for raising her voice and going against them. A fan wanted to take the initiative to work for the 2022 Wimbledon champion and wrote, “I could make them but they’ll get blocked, unfortunately.”
I could make them but they'll get blocked unfortunately
— TvRF (@TvRFTennis) October 4, 2023
Subsequently, a fan also talked about the strange behavior. He wrote, “WTA openly discriminates against Rybakina and no one says anything about it. Disgusting behavior from wta.”
WTA in general it’s a mess 😪
— MJ ~ SabaTek Supremacy (@mjtek2903) October 4, 2023
While another fan shared his view on WTA’s behavior against a tennis player. He wrote, “WTA in general it’s a mess.”
WTA in general it’s a mess 😪
— MJ ~ SabaTek Supremacy (@mjtek2903) October 4, 2023
Apart from that, some fans even cried over Rybakina’s snub by the WTA. “I was wondering the same thing. They are clearly still mad that she spoke out against them. Oh well,” he added.
😂😂 i was wondering the same thing. They are clearly still mad that she spoke out against them. Oh well 🫠
— E.P (@EribertoP1) October 4, 2023
Moreover, a fan raised a point to let the WTA know about the situation. “Please tag the wta.. They are proving elenas point that they are actually.”
Please tag the wta.. They are proving elenas point that they are actually 🤡's..
— Dudz ilyasova (@dudz_ilyasova) October 4, 2023
A fan also shared her true feelings regarding the organization. “I hate this organisation 😭 I can’t wait for the time when Tennis TV gonna post women’s highlights,” she added.
I hate this organisation 😭 I can't wait for the time when Tennis TV gonna post women's highlights 😪 https://t.co/r4KKhz3D4U
— Raj | #Beijinx (@RajBhandari1001) October 4, 2023
A fan cited resonated the sentiments by tagging the WTA & related accounts by saying, “This is a shame”
This is a shame @WTA @WTA_insider @WTAFinals https://t.co/SEkpx3HoXK
— Amie (@Rainbow90471) October 4, 2023
The main question, however, is what transpired a few days ago that directly contradicted the WTA, for which Rybakina is facing sanctions.
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When Rybakina was left in an unfavorable spot
Just a few days ago, the WTA introduced a performance byte. It aims to give people who had a good performance in the previous week a bye instead of giving byes through their rankings. Due to this, the 2023 Wimbledon champion received the bye on being the third seed but had it canceled after the WTA decided to implement the new rule in Tokyo.
The Kazakh was not happy with her decision and expressed her frustration at the WTA with the help of her social media handle. She wrote, “Performance bye. Thank you for changing the rules last moment. Great decisions as always @wta.” After that, she even took a step back from the Tokyo Open, and since then, the rest is history.
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What do you think about the WTA’s behavior of leaving third-ranked tennis player out? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
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