PTPA presses player fatigue concerns after Rybakina’s WTA Finals withdrawal

Elena Rybakina, who won ‌two Grand Slam titles this year, also withdrew from the Tokyo quarterfinals last month because ‌of a neck injury. | Photo Credit: AFP

The Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) reiterated its criticism of the tennis schedule on Monday, saying ​world number one Elena Rybakina withdrew from the season-ending WTA ‌Finals as “her body had nothing left to give”.

Defending ​champion Rybakina said on Saturday she was ⁠not physically ready to compete at the tournament, with organisers citing a viral illness for the Kazakh’s withdrawal.

Rybakina, who won ‌two Grand Slam titles this year, also withdrew from the Tokyo quarterfinals last month because ‌of a neck injury.

“She finishes 2026 with two ‌Grand ⁠Slam titles and four titles overall. And ⁠still, by the season’s final event in November, her body had nothing left to give,” the PTPA said in a post on ​social media.

“Players shouldn’t reach ‌the biggest event of the year running on empty. The PTPA continues to push for a season that leaves players healthy enough to finish it.”

The WTA ‌Tour did not immediately respond to a Reuters ​request for comment.

The elite women’s tour has previously said athlete welfare is a top ⁠priority and that it has listened to players’ views on the calendar.

Concerns over player workload are echoed on the ‌men’s ATP Tour, with American Taylor Fritz saying on Sunday that the sport’s brief off-season left players with little opportunity to recover.

“It’s just so year-round, round-the-clock,” he said on The Running Interview Show. “We have a one-month off-season and, if you take that off-season off, ‌you’d be showing up without practice at the beginning of the ​year.

“So, essentially, you can only really take, max, two weeks off, and then you have ⁠to be training. So we essentially get no time off ⁠ever. You are literally living out of a suitcase.”

The ATP has said players retain choices ‌over their schedules and that it is working to create incentives for an appropriate number of matches ​to be played during the season.