The WTA Tour in Madrid will see an unusual field in the semifinals as the top five seeds, including Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, have all been eliminated already.
Sabalenka lost in the quarterfinals to Hailey Baptiste in a huge upset. Rybakina was eliminated in the fourth round by Anastasia Potapova. Gauff was eliminated by Linda Noskova in the fourth round. Swiatek, who prepared at the Rafa Nadal academy this summer, retired mid-match in the third round against Ann Li. Pegula was defeated in the third round by Marta Kostyuk.
Tennis journalist Jose Moron pointed this out through a tweet, claiming that such a thing doesn’t happen in the ATP.
“What a mess has unfolded in the WTA at this Madrid tournament,” Moron wrote. “This would be hard to see in the ATP.”
This tweet from Moron didn’t sit right with fans, who slammed the journalist for making false claims.
“What are earth are you talking about???? This does happen on the ATP. It happened in Shanghai and Madrid last year. You know exactly what you’re doing tweeting s*it like this. You’re just emboldening misogynistic freaks who will use this as an excuse to hate on the WTA,” one fan wrote.
“This always happens in the ATP, don’t be a clown,” another added.
“Anyone can slip up. It’s that in the ATP, all the top 5 are there,” one fan commented.
“If Zverev doesn’t make it (he’s in the third set) the difference would be null because both number 1s have reached the quarterfinals. For it to be something hard to see in the ATP it’s not crazy that it happens in this very tournament,” one fan remarked.
“What a way to rant against the WTA when today’s ATP circuit leaves quite a bit to be desired… Plus, in this tournament, only Sinner and Zverev are still in the running,” one fan added.
“At least there’s excitement, suspense, you never know who’s going to win. In the ATP, from now on I can tell you that Sinner is going to win Madrid, Rome, and Roland Garros, and the finals with Zverev will all be in two sets,” one fan reacted.
Iga Swiatek Reclaims No. 3 Spot from Coco Gauff Despite Madrid Disappointment
Even though Iga Swiatek’s spirited run ended in the third round due to illness, she is set to benefit from this tournament.
Swiatek entered this tournament just behind Coco Gauff in the rankings. However, as compared to Swiatek, Gauff had more ranking points to defend since she was a finalist here last season.
As a result, her exit in the fourth round meant that she is set to lose 530 ranking points. Meanwhile, Swiatek will also be losing 325 ranking points, but since she was just six points behind coming into this tournament, she will get back the No. 3 ranking.
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