Serena Williams’ former coach has slammed organizers of the ATP Tour and Paris Masters after a top seed was forced to withdraw from the last 16 due to insufficient recovery time between matches.
Fourth-seeded Janik Sinner was scheduled to face Australia’s Alex De Minaur in Thursday’s final match, but the Italian’s previous match against American Mackenzie McDonald was not scheduled until Europe It ended at 2:37 AM Central Time today.
The three-set battle lasted 2 hours and 18 minutes to decide the winner. McDonald, ranked 42nd in the world, won the first set in the tie-break. Sinner showed his strength, winning the second set 7-5 and the deciding set 6-1.
But as the tournament drew to a close and most everyone in the French capital had gone to bed, Rennae Stubbs, who coached Williams in her final match at the 2022 U.S. Open, could not hide her Disappointment at this ridiculous behavior. Finished by night.
Take to social media, Stubbs wrote (Original Twitter): “Complete the Masters 1000 around 3am!!!! WTH @atptour!!! What happened? Indoors!!!! How is this possible!!???”
The Australian coach has also called for changes in the leadership of the ATP and WTA tours, even suggesting the two bodies should merge to facilitate better decision-making.
Stubbs wrote: “Man I think it’s time for someone to take over the ATP & @WTA Tour! Anyone who thinks they can do better??? Join the Tour!???”
Stubbs’ frustration at the end of Sinner’s match seemed not unreasonable, as the world No. 4 later pulled out of the tournament altogether, citing “fatigue.” As a result, De Minaur would win comfortably, sending the Australian directly into the quarter-finals.
De Minaur will now face fifth seed Andrei Rublev in the quarter-finals and possibly Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals.
The idea of a merger between the ATP and WTA tours has previously been mooted by Williams and all-time great Roger Federer.