"The only regret I have is I gave Tennis Australia something to celebrate" - Arina Rodionova on Australian Open qualifiers loss amid wildcard dispute

Arina Rodionova has aired her grievances with Tennis Australia following her first-round loss in the qualifiers of the 2024 Australian Open.

Rodionova kicked off her 2024 season at the Brisbane International, beating Martina Trevisan 6-3, 6-2 in her tournament opener. Subsequently, the 34-year-old stunned Sofia Kenin 7-5, 7-6(7). She then suffered a straight sets defeat to Mirra Andreeva in the third round.

Following her win over Kenin, Arina Rodionova outlined her case for why she deserved a wildcard for the Australian Open. However, after failing to receive one of the eight main-draw wildcards, she stated that she wasn't surprised by the decision and expressed her determination to secure a place in the main draw through the qualifiers.

"I wish I could say I am surprised 😅 But honestly. The satisfaction of achieving it all absolutely on your own, despite all this stuff… it is worth it. I will see you guys at AO qualies in couple of days and I am PUMPED for this😈 LFG," Arina Rodionova posted on X.

However, Arina Rodionova fell short in the opening round of the qualifiers, losing to Leolia Jeanjean 6-3, 6-4. Following her defeat, Rodionova stated that her only regret was giving Tennis Australia cause for celebration by failing to reach the main draw after they didn't award her a wildcard.

"The only regrets I have from today is just I gave Tennis Australia something to celebrate. I think they are very pleased with my result today and that’s what makes me upset," she said (via The Guardian).

The 34-year-old also claimed that she wasn't "liked" by the organization, alleging that this was common knowledge among all Australian players.

"It started like years and years ago. There were just so many things behind the scenes that it is very clear to me that I’m not liked. And it’s not just clear to me, it’s clear to every single Australian tennis player and everyone," she said.

"It’s not exactly a secret, everyone knows it and now it’s kind of funny that basically by making this decision they decided to make it public as well. I don’t even know how to justify the reasoning behind it. I had a great year. I’ve done everything I possibly could to deserve it. They just don’t like me simply," she added.

Arina Rodionova on lack of Australian Open 2024 wildcard: "It's not about the money, it’s more about the opportunity"

Arina Rodionova

Despite losing out on a substantial amount of prize money by not making it to the main draw of the Australian Open, Arina Rodionova expressed greater frustration over the loss of opportunity.

The 34-year-old criticized the organizers for delaying the wildcard announcements, alleging that they only "pretended" to take the Brisbane International results into consideration.

"It's not about the money. It’s more about the opportunity. I didn’t really have an issue with them not giving it to me. More of an issue was that they left it for so long and they pretended that they were looking at the results in Brisbane," Arina Rodionova said.

Rodionova also emphasized the importance of such decisions being communicated to the players at least a month in advance, stating that anything less was "disrespectful" to the players.

"I had the best result there [of the Australian women], so I don’t think they were looking at that. The decision was probably made before. They didn’t want to give it to me, and they should have announced it way before because it just brought such unnecessary stress to myself. It’s disrespectful towards players … they should tell us a month before," she added.