WTA Finals Controversy Refuses to Slow Down as Czech Businessman’s Rigid Prize Money Decision Surfaces

The Women’s Tennis Association Finals ended, but the controversy surrounding the tournament is still on fire. While the players somehow managed to make the tournament a success, some clashes between the WTA and the tournament organizers have come to light, adding fuel to the ongoing controversy. The debate regarding why the tournament was hosted in Mexico, that too, in Cancun, is still going on. And now the Czech businessman Tomas Petera has made huge revelations about how he wanted to organize the tournament in the first place.

With Petera being the latest to point fingers at the WTA for changing their word at the last moment, the blame for the chaos during the tournament falls squarely on the principal organizing body of women’s professional tennis.

Tomas Petera adds fuel to the WTA Finals controversy

The Czech businessman is not happy with how things turned out to be for the WTA Finals. Tomas Petera was eager to organize this year’s tournament and he was in advanced talks to prepare for the event to be held in Ostrava. In a recent interview,  Petera talked about how the money pool of the tournament was decided and showed his dissatisfaction with the holding of the event in Mexico.

Petera reported about the negotiations to Sport.pl, saying, “I will pay for production and organizational matters, and the WTA will take care of the prize pool. We also decided that as part of the fee I will give them at least one million dollars, plus all sponsors cooperating with the WTA will also contribute.”

In this conversation, the businessman behind the WTA Finals bid made his terms clear: he would shoulder the cost of the event’s organization and production, while the WTA would be concerned with the prize pool. Along with that, he also opened up about how he was left unaware of the tournament being organized in Cancun, whereas preparations for the same were ready to start in Ostrava.

As the tournament went underway in Cancun, Mexico, it was clear that the months of speculations and fears regarding the abysmal decision-making had come true. Starting from controversies related to Saudi financing in tennis to the modular stadium and court being unprepared even two days before the event commenced, from dress code mixups to truant monsoon weather, few things went right at the WTA Finals. Scathing criticism overshadowed the glory of the tournament.

READ MORE: Court Controversy Refuses to Slow Down at WTA Finals as Elena Rybakina Joins Peers in Slamming Cancun’s Inconsiderate Move

Tennis stars mince no words criticizing the WTA Finals failures

After losing in the semi-finals, the 25-year-old World No. 2 made headlines when she revealed the true problem that led to such a disastrous tournament. Aryna Sabalenka stated, “They just announced it, and that’s it. Like some of the players just saw a tweet and were like, ‘Okay, we’re playing in Cancun.’ It’s just like they made the decision, and that’s it. That’s the problem. That they’re not asking all the players where they would like to play.”

Martina Navratilova put WTA CEO Steve Simon under pressure, commenting, “It shouldn’t have come that late in the year, making this decision. Ultimately, Steve Simon has been the boss for 9 years, and here we are… to come to Cancun in the rainy season.” Performances of key players like Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina suffered. The latter turned vocal after a defeat against Jessica Pegula, saying, “As I said, I’m not really happy with the conditions & the setup of the tournament. About the court, I don’t really want to talk. Because everything was late & there was no time to fix anything. I think the quality of the match wasn’t the greatest.”

As the disrespectful and inconsiderate decision-making of the WTA finds exposure, the tournament organization has kept its mouth shut over the slew of controversies. What do you think about Petera’s statement adding fuel to the fire? Will there finally be a response?

WATCH THIS STORY: Serena Williams Pays Tribute to Roger Federer