"These statements only harm, why do you say this?" - Ana Salas criticizes Dmitry Tursunov's comments on women's tennis

Valencia Open director Ana Salas has criticized the comments made by Emma Raducanu's former coach Dmitry Tursunov on the state of women's tennis. The Russian had recently expressed that some women pro players put in only 50 percent effort on the court.

In an interview with Punto de Break, Salas hit back at Tursunov's comments and claimed that some players on the men's side also do the same. She also stated that his comments do not help women's tennis grow.

"I do not agree at all, in men, there are also players who do not give 100% or players who make many mistakes. It is true that the current trend is to hit from behind with flat shots, although profiles like Swiatek help to change it," Ana Salas said.

"These statements only harm women's tennis or coaches who on social networks assure that women's tennis has no interest. Why do you say this? It doesn't have it for you, but for many people it does, what we have to do is unite it and strengthen it," she added.

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"We cannot expect women's tennis to explode overnight" - Ana Salas on growth of women's tennis

Iga Swiatek signs autographs for fans after defeating Coco Gauff at the 2022 WTA Finals.

In the same interview, Ana Salas mentioned that the interest in women's tennis cannot be instantaneous and will not explode overnight.

"An important factor is the physical capacity of the men, that makes their matches more spectacular, more artistic or more beautiful, that's why it sells better. If we compare what has happened in soccer, perhaps more resources are needed at the communication level, more women's tennis is put on, more characters are sold on the circuit etc," she said.

"There are several reasons, it is not just one, but I go back to before: it is a whole process. We cannot expect women's tennis to explode overnight, although if we all do it together it would be much easier. Imagine a men's and women's masters' tournament in the same week, I'm sure people would see it," she added.

While she believes that more women are taking up the sport now, she called for patience and stated that women's tennis will eventually catch up with men's tennis in the future.

"There are more and more women who practice highly competitive sports, but everything is a process, it will take us a while to catch up with men. Perhaps in the future, but for the moment we are in that process, we also do not have to claim things that are clear on paper: today, men's tennis sells more than women's. We have to be smart and be on their side to push ourselves," Ana Salas expressed.