"I don't understand this decision," Kasatkina slams WTA after Eastbourne tournament downgrade
Defeated in the first round of the WTA 250 Eastbourne tournament by Lulu Sun (7-5, 2-6, 6-3), Daria Kasatkina still hasn’t won a single match on grass this year as Wimbledon now looms on the horizon.
The Russian, who was already knocked out early by Sonay Kartal at Queen’s and by Wang Xinyu in Berlin, hasn’t built much confidence before heading into the London Grand Slam. However, during a press conference, the 28-year-old world No. 16 made sure to send a message to the WTA.
"It sucks, honestly. I don’t understand this decision. I believe Eastbourne is one of the oldest tournaments we have on the tour—it’s a tournament with a lot of history. From what I remember, it’s always been a WTA 500.
I don’t see any valid reason for this tournament to be considered a WTA 250. Bad Homburg is also a very good tournament that deserves to be a WTA 500, but not to the point where another tournament gets downgraded. It’s a real problem.
On the ATP Tour, there’s no issue with having two ATP 500s in the same week. I don’t see why we can’t do the same. The top players would prefer a WTA 500 because top-5 players are almost guaranteed a first-round bye.
In a WTA 250, there’s no bye, so you earn fewer points while playing more matches. There’s also the money aspect, but performance-wise, you put in more effort but get less in return.
I don’t understand why we have byes in WTA 500s but not in WTA 250s. It makes no sense. Now we’re here in Eastbourne, and this great tournament has been downgraded. That said, I have to admit the tour in general is improving year after year. They’re increasing prize money, so that’s cool.
I know they’re doing their best, and I love this tournament even if it should be a WTA 500," Kasatkina shared with Tennis Up To Date in recent hours.
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