MIAMI GARDENS, Fla., March 17 (UPI) — Aryna Sabalenka said Tuesday that she could skip future editions of the Dubai Tennis Championships because of a slight by tournament director Salah Tahlak.
The top-ranked Belarusian made the comments at Miami Open media day in Miami Gardens, Fla. Sabalenka withdrew from the WTA 1000 event last month, saying she did “not feel 100%.” She competed in the previous nine editions of the tournament.
No. 3 Iga Swiatek of Poland also withdrew from the tournament. She cited a “change of schedule.” The stars’ absences led to a scathing statement from Tahlak, who questioned their excuses for not participating.
“It was an unfortunate surprise [Feb. 13] to get news of the withdrawal of Aryna and Iga,” Tahlak told The National. “And the reasons for withdrawal were a bit strange. Iga said she wasn’t mentally ready to compete, while Sabalenka said she has some minor injuries.”
The Dubai event is one of 10 mandatory WTA 1000 tournaments on the tennis calendar. Players who miss the events without injury or an approved reason receive zero-point rankings penalties
Tahlak suggested “a harsher punishment” than fines for player withdrawals, including a docking of rankings points. Sabalenka called his comments “ridiculous.”
“It’s actually so sad to see that the tournament director and the tournaments are not protecting us as players,” Sabalenka said. “They just care about their tournament and that’s it, and his comment was ridiculous.
“I’m not sure if I ever want to go there, like, after his comment. For me, it’s too much.”
No. 4 Coco Gauff of the United States also said she “didn’t really like Tahlak’s comments.
“I just feel Iga and Aryna have played that tournament so many times and it wasn’t anything personal to it,” Gauff said. “It’s tough. We’re trying our best to play the calendar. It’s tough. I completely understand why she would feel like that because I do think the comments were unnecessary.
“I think that tournament directors, players, everyone just has to hear each other out and understand. Unfortunately, I think that was a moment where people weren’t being understanding. I think we just need to try to understand each other.”
Sabalenka is among several players to recently suggest an overhaul of the tennis calendar. The WTA announced a 13-person Tour Architecture Council last month to address the “physical, professional and personal pressures of competing at the highest level.”
No. 5 Jessica Pegula of the United States chairs the council.
Sabalenka, who recently became engaged to boyfriend Georgios Frangulis, said she felt “happy, confident and strong” before her first match of the 2026 Miami Open. She beat Pegula in the women’s singles final last year in Miami Gardens.
The four-time Grand Slam champion earned a first-round bye and will start her title Miami defense Thursday with a Round of 64 match against No. 39 Ann Li of the United States or a qualifier/lucky loser.
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