Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka’s last-minute withdrawals from the Dubai Tennis Championships have rocked the Masters event.
The top two ranked players in the world were set to play, but Sabalenka and Swiatek pulled out a day before the Dubai event.
Sabalenka has not played since the Australian Open final, having also missed the Qatar Open, while Swiatek lost in the quarter-finals of Doha.
The Dubai Tennis Championships tournament director has slammed the pair’s decision to miss his Masters event.
Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek told they should be docked ranking points
Speaking to Arab News, Dubai Tennis Championships tournament director, Salah Tahlak, was far from happy with Sabalenka and Swiatek’s withdrawals.
Tahlak called the last-minute withdrawal an “unfortunate surprise” and said their reasons were “a bit strange.
“Iga said she wasn’t mentally ready to compete, while Sabalenka said she has some minor injuries. So I don’t know,” he said, before suggesting there should be bigger punishments for players who withdraw from events.
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“I think there should be a harsher punishment on the players [for withdrawing], not just fines, they should be docked ranking points.
“I even asked the [tournament] doctor, what is the injury? He said it’s a minor injury, not one that would force her to withdraw from the tournament. And for Iga, I asked, ‘Isn’t this a strange decision?’
“I think a fine will not do anything. I feel they should deduct points from the players. A monetary fine won’t help. Many years ago, Serena Williams withdrew and was fined $100,000. But what is $100,000?”
Tahlak is prepared to push the matter further at an upcoming WTA meeting, so it appears he is not backing down on the matter.
“So the fine isn’t a big deal. We have a meeting coming up in Rome and I want to shed light on this issue.
“We have a representative on behalf of the international group [of tournaments] to speak for us with the WTA.
“Because it’s a shame that we’re spending these huge amounts to upgrade our facilities and in the end the players are the main part (of this tournament).”
Elena Rybakina and Coco Gauff will now be the top two seeds at the event, while rising prospects Iva Jovic and Alexandra Eala are set to be popular stars in the Middle East.
What happens if players miss out on Masters events currently?
WTA Masters 1000 events are ‘mandatory’, meaning players need to be injured or they will be sanctioned by the organisation.
Players who skip the Masters events receive a “zero-pointer”, which prevents them from using a better result from another tournament to boost their ranking.
Top stars can also receive monetary fines, although several of the top stars have revealed they are happy to pay them to free up their schedule.
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Sabalenka has cited a hip injury, so she could miss out on any sanction for missing the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Swiatek, meanwhile, withdrew from the competition due to a schedule change, so she will more than likely be sanctioned by the WTA.
However, it should come as no surprise to fans that Swiatek has already decided against playing high-profile tournaments.
At the beginning of the year, the star announced her plans to play fewer events than she did previously in 2025.
In an interview with The Guardian, the world number two said: “I would like to try missing maybe two tournaments – maybe the ones I feel I haven’t been playing well at anyway – just spending this time on grinding and getting the technique better.”
