Rivakina does not participate in King of Kings... Tennis Players Association: “Season schedule is too tight”

The Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) has again criticized the tight schedule of the Women's Professional Tennis (WTA) Tour, following the absence of world number one women's singles Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan) in the final match of the season.

PTPA posted a post on social media on the 10th (Korean time), saying, "Athletes should not show up to the biggest competition of the year empty-handed," and emphasized, "We will continue to demand that players create a schedule that keeps them healthy enough to play through the season."

When Rivakina announced her intention to not participate in the WTA Finals held at the end of the season two days ago, the PTPA, which had been vocal about the men's and women's tour schedule being murderous, raised this issue again.

PTPA pointed out, "Rivakina will finish 2026 with a total of four wins, including two major wins. However, by the time the last competition of the season was reached in November, his stamina was exhausted."

Rybakina, the winner of last year's WTA Finals, announced that she would not participate in this year's tournament, saying she was not in good shape. Rivakina is said to have contracted the virus.

Rivakina also withdrew from the Tokyo Open last month without playing in the quarterfinals due to a neck injury.

Recently, there were voices criticizing the harsh schedule on the Men's Professional Tennis (ATP) tour.

Taylor Fritz (USA) said in an interview on the 8th, "It's really a whole year, non-stop. The off-season is one month, and if you take a break during that period, you'll start the new season without even practicing."

He confessed, "So in reality, we can only rest for two weeks at most, and then we have to train. In the end, we have no time to rest at all. We literally live our lives dragging suitcases."