Tennis fans on social media have expressed their frustration after organizers of the Western and Southern Open unexpectedly changed the date of Serena Williams’ first round match.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion was set to begin her campaign on Monday against reigning US Open champion Emma Raducanu. Last week organizers said the two will clash in the evening of that day but when an updated order of play for the tournament was published yesterday the match was missing.
A tournament spokesperson has told the Associated Press that the change has been made ‘on account of a number of factors related to scheduling.’ Although there has been no further explanation about what these factors are. Sports presenter Marcus Buckland, who works for Amazon Prime, wrote on Twitter that an injury concern for Williams prompted the schedule change. Although this hasn’t been confirmed by official sources.
Meanwhile, those who bought tickets for Monday evening under the impression that they would see the former world No.1 in action have hit out at the decision.
“Where is Serena? Your CEO said on Monday. We have the receipts. This was a false advertisement ploy to get people to buy tickets for Monday and now they have to buy Tuesday’s as well,’ one user wrote on Twitter.
Cody Hurley, who is a men’s tennis coach at Capital University, wrote ‘This is so disappointing. After spending hundreds of dollars to watch Serena, the schedule change the night before? I have been coming to watch Serena Williams play Cincinnati since the mid-2000s. Watching the GOAT play one last time would’ve been a dream come true.”
Scheduling controversy aside, 19-year-old Raducanu says she is ‘really fortunate’ to have the chance to play Williams before the American retires from the sport. Although it hasn’t been officially confirmed, it is suspected that Williams’ final tournament will be the US Open. The 40-year-old was ranked No.1 on the same day Raducanu was born (November 13th 2002).
“I think it’s gonna be an exciting match,” Raducanu said during her pre-tournament press conference. “I’m looking forward to it. It’s an amazing opportunity to play probably the best tennis player of all time. It’s probably going to be my last opportunity to ever play her.
“I think that, for our careers to have crossed over, I think I’m really fortunate that I get to play her. Whatever happens, I think it’s gonna be a really good experience for me and something that I will remember for the rest of my life.
“Expectations, I don’t really know, I don’t really care. I just want to go out there and, one, enjoy the match that I’m going to play whenever I do play it.
“It’s a great gift to play the best on her way out from the sport. So I’m just looking forward to that.”
This week Raducanu is playing under the guidance of coach Dimitry Tursunov who previously worked with Anette Kontaveit and Aryna Sabalenka. The two are currently working together on a trial basis and there is no suggestion that it could become a permanent arrangement in the future.
Williams is a two-time champion at the Western and Southern Open after winning back-to-back titles in 2013 and 2014. She was also a runner-up in 2012.
