"This shouldn’t happen" - Serena Williams' ex-coach fumes over scheduling after Elena Rybakina calls out WTA over late night finish at Canadian Open 

Elena Rybakina recently criticized the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for the late-night finish and poor scheduling at the 2023 Canadian Open. Serena Williams' former coach Rennae Stubbs subsequently shared her own frustrations on the subject.

On Friday, Rybakina won a late-night marathon against Daria Kasatkina 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(8). The intense three-hour and 27-minute-long quarterfinal encounter concluded a mere five minutes prior to 3:00 a.m. on Saturday morning.

Another scheduling mishap occurred on Saturday due to rain, resulting in the postponement of the semifinal match between Rybakina and Liudmila Samsonova to Sunday, coinciding with the day of the final. Samsonova defeated Rybakina 1-6, 6-1, 6-2, securing her spot in the final against Jessica Pegula on the same day.

After her defeat, Elena Rybakina gave her thoughts on her quarterfinal match against Kasatkina and openly expressed her dissatisfaction with the late finish. She branded the scheduling of the tournament "unprofessional" and blamed the WTA for it.

"It’s the first time when the match went that long and we finished also so late. It’s the first time and hopefully the last time because I think it’s been a little bit unprofessional from the, I cannot say really the tournament because I think that the most important is the WTA here, and the leadership is a little bit weak for now," she said in her post-match press conference.

Resonating with Elena Rybakina's emotions, Rennae Stubbs took to social media to write that the "unfair" late-night finish should never have occurred. Stubbs further emphasized that players would much rather engage in two matches within a single day than endure the grueling task of concluding their games in the wee hours.

"This shouldn’t happen! I know the weather was crap, but this isn’t fair. I think players would prefer two matches in a day then this," Stubbs tweeted.

Screengrab of Rennae Stubbs' tweet

Elena Rybakina will next be in action at the Cincinnati Open

Elena Rybakina at the 2022 Western & Southern Open

Elena Rybakina will next compete at the 2023 Western & Southern Open. After receiving a bye in the first round, the fourth seed will start her campaign against the winner of the match between Jelena Ostapenko and Karolina Pliskova.

Rybakina and Ostapenko are currently tied at 2-2 in their head-to-head. It was the former who emerged victorious during their most recent clash, during the semifinals of the 2023 Italian Open.

Meanwhile, Rybakina boasts an impeccable 3-0 record against Pliskova. Their last encounter was at Abu Dhabi 2023, where the Kazakh triumphed in straight sets.

Elena Rybakina will be determined to deliver a strong performance at the WTA 1000 event in Cincinnati as the tournament is her final preparatory event before the US Open.