Kateryna Zavatska Slams WTA: ‘Do You Care About Players at All?

Kateryna Zavatska has strongly criticized the WTA in a fiery Instagram post following her first-round defeat at the WTA 125 tournament in Charleston. The Ukrainian athlete accused organizers of ignoring her plea for an extra day of rest after competing in the Billie Jean King Cup playoffs for Ukraine in Dallas just hours before the event.

“I played 8 sets in 2 days on a completely different surface. I requested to start on Wednesday due to injuries, court changes, and the sheer amount of hours I had spent on court. The response I got was vague and dismissive. Then, they scheduled me as the first match on Tuesday!” Zavatska shared.

She continued to share her disappointment, explaining that she couldn't play her best because she didn't have enough time to recover.

Added: “It was even possible that could play Monday? I was taking the plane only on Monday .... Why I can't have a clear answer? Monday evening I wanted to double-check if I will play on Tuesday, the last match at least.”

Concluded: “can you even think to put me first after the week I had? Do you care about players? Or you care about killing them psychologically and physically? I just can't stay quiet anymore of this shit. Okey even if it's not possible to put me on Wednesday: just please explain me, tell me the real reasons? Rules ...? Rules of wta..? Can't be serious. Today I lost. I couldn't compete and show to people tennis game, tennis fight. It was just disappointing for me to play at this level. But I couldn't give much due to this circumstances! One more day would make a difference. I could lose, but playing some good tennis and show kids that it's a nice game, nice sport. I thought we are here also for this.”

Zavatska's comments generate a wider debate regarding the WTA's management of player schedules and health, and raise serious questions about fairness and player welfare in professional tennis.