We need to talk about the WTA Finals

The 2023 WTA season is coming to a close, with the Finals Tournament Singles final set to take place tomorrow, not today.

It was supposed to be today, Sunday 5th November, but one of the most important matches in the entire calendar, the season finale, has been postponed due to torrential weather conditions.

This is Cancun's first time hosting the prestigious tournament. Four other cities were in contention - Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), Ostrava (Czechia), Cluj-Napoca (Romania), and Washington D.C. (USA) - but Cancun was selected.

A temporary venue was constructed in the city, with a stadium that seats the fewest number of spectators in WTA Finals history at a 4,300 capacity.

The stadium's surface had yet even to be laid down when the players arrived in Cancun, and many players have spoken openly about its unsatisfactory state.

The conditions have been far from ideal in Cancun

Elena Rybakina said in a post-match interview after defeating Maria Sakkari 6-0, 6-7(4), 6-7(2): "As we all know, the surface is not the greatest. We're struggling, all of us."

The world number four went on to say: "I think it's far from being the best tennis. I feel like the quality from all of us is not the greatest.

"I don't feel like I can show everything I have on the court. You're kind of limited with the things you can do with such conditions."

Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova described the playing conditions on her Instagram story as "so so sad for all of us."

The eight best tennis players in the world have, ultimately, been let down by a bizarre decision to host the season-ending competition at a makeshift venue where a teeming storm is refusing to let up.

It's been chaotic and mismanaged throughout the tournament, but it's today where things have entered the territory of entirely unacceptable.

Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff have the potential to play three matches today. Yes, you read that correctly - THREE tennis matches in one single day.

Bear with me, this is going to get very confusing!

They face Laura Siegemund and Vera Zvonareva in the doubles in what is a continuation of a previously suspended Group A match, where they currently lead 6-3, 1-1.

If they win this match, they will go on to play Storm Hunter and Elise Mertens in the semi-final.

The winner of Pegula/Gauff vs Hunter/Mertens will face the winner of Dabrowski/Routliffe vs Melichar-Martinez/Perez, who are also playing their semi-final today, in the final - which will also be played today.

Understand? Me neither.

To make matters worse, the Singles final was postponed to tomorrow, in which Pegula will play the winner of Swiatek vs Sabalenka. That could be four matches in two days for her.

Jessica Pegula's potential schedule is jam-packed

Speaking of the Singles final, it will now be played on a Monday, a day of the working week, where many ticket holders may now find themselves unable to attend, be it due to work, school, or even pre-booked flights back home.

One user of X, formerly known as Twitter, said: "And for those who have flights booked for Monday to go back to countries (Canada for us) they were visiting from, just for the WTA Finals? Refunds? Partial refunds? Or just a 'you have been heard'?"

Another commented: "Make sure you post how we get our refund for the finals, because we have airplane tickets for Monday."

With attendance already capped at an all-time low, it could be a pretty empty affair for one of the most important matches of the entire WTA calendar.

On top of all of this, the Billie Jean King Cup, affectionately known as the 'World Cup of Tennis', commences on Tuesday in Seville, a mere 4877 miles away from Cancun.

Two of the players potentially playing in the Doubles final, Ellen Perez and Storm Hunter, are set to represent Australia at the tournament in just two days' time. Is that really feasible?

The entire situation just feels extremely anticlimactic - it's been an incredible season of women's tennis, with four different grand slam winners.

The players have worked so hard to reach this tournament, it should only be right for them to be rewarded with a playable tournament. That has not been the case.

I understand that weather is uncontrollable, but Cancun was chosen to host the tournament during its hurricane and tropical storm season, for reasons that many cannot seem to understand.

It wasn't because of a chance of high attendance, or a state-of-the-art venue - what was the reasoning?

Was it because Mexico hasn't hosted the finals before? Not quite - in fact, Guadalajara hosted the WTA Finals as recently as 2021.

The WTA have apologised to the players for the situation

WTA chief executive Steve Simon described the late scheduling of the tournament as "based on a number of complicated factors" that were not expanded on.

Simon said in a letter to the players: “It is clear you are not happy with the decision to be here in Cancún. I understand that and you have been heard.

“It is not a perfect event, we understand the conditions are a challenge and the WTA accepts responsibility for that.”

The players have been heard, and now, we need to see change. Women deserve more.