WTA 500 Doha 2/13 - 2/18 2023

[ashkor87]

Thanks..so it is really there for the tournament to induce a top 20 player in, who may not have entered..good to know..thanks @jazznu

[3mlm]

Apparently, Rybakina opted out of qualifying and will not be playing in Doha. She's not in the qualifying or main draw.

[ashkor87]

It is the game that is the loser..WTA better wake up!

[Deuce]

Nice comeback win for Leylah over Yastremska in a qualifying match...
Three 6-3 sets, with Leylah losing the 1st.
Ever the good sportsman, Yastremska didn't shake the umpire's hand after the match - and there were no umpire/player conflicts during the match.

Fellow Canadian Rebecca Marino also won her qualifying match - in 3 sets over Sasnovich.

One more qualy match to go for both to get into the main draw, where the qualifier positions are tough (Bencic, Collins, Alexandrova, and Kasatkina). But there may be some last minute withdrawals, of course - notably Bencic and Samsonova, who are currently going to a 3rd set in the Final in Abu Dhabi, after an exhausting marathon 2nd set.

I was watching 3 or 4 matches at once - Leylah - Yastremska, Marino - Sasnovich, Bencic - Samsonova, and the beginning of Sinner - Cressy.
Watching 2 matches at once is a challenge - but 3 or 4 at once is just silly... but I wanted to see what was happening in all of them, so...
Now down to just 2, thankfully...

[ponchi101]

It is the game that is the loser..WTA better wake up!

It is rather silly indeed. The Wimbledon champion and recent Aussie RU. I understand (and disagreed) with the Wimbledon NO POINTS, but you can't ignore the fact she holds that crown.
The tournament really should make the exception, and hand her the WC. No questions asked.

[ashkor87]

maybe the tournament doesnt have the power, sounds like the WTA rules have no exceptions..

[Deuce]

That's a strange one, as Rybakina was obviously eligible for a 'regular' WildCard...
The WildCards went to Azarenka, Kenin, and Sakkari.
One might be able to argue for Sakkari getting the WC over Rybakina... but not the other two.
I would think that Rybakina was offered a WC, but either refused or hesitated to decide whether she wanted to play the tournament or not.

[ashkor87]

i dont expect Bencic to win this one, or the next couple - the field includes some Tier 1 players like Swiatek and Sabalenka..normally, she would not be able to beat them.

[Suliso]

Doha is out of the question simply because of too short of a turn around. However, I think Belinda is capable of wining a top tier tournament. She has done so twice before. Not a favorite to do so, but a viable dark horse for sure. Let's see at IW and Miami.

[JazzNU]

It is the game that is the loser..WTA better wake up!

It is rather silly indeed. The Wimbledon champion and recent Aussie RU. I understand (and disagreed) with the Wimbledon NO POINTS, but you can't ignore the fact she holds that crown.
The tournament really should make the exception, and hand her the WC. No questions asked.

To be clear about this - the tournament CAN give her a wild card. Think of how many different places Genie Bouchard got them based off nothing but her name being well known and her being marketable looks wise. That they don't may speak to her popularity and/or name recognition there or she didn't make overtures to request one.

There are different rules for giving out wildcards depending on the level of the event, but they all have them and can gift them to virtually any player that they want to.

Just a reminder of where these events are located. They are, understandably to me if you've ever watched a match when they played, more likely to give out a wild card to Mayar Sherif or another Arabic speaking player even if they are ranked in the 200s as a priority. Ons Jabeur used to play most of this swing off wild card entries. And again, you only need to have tuned in to her matches to see why they do it. They do need to try to sell this locally and the crowd is never more engaged than when the Arabic speaking players are there.

[ponchi101]

@ Suliso/Ashkor. Abu Dhabi-Doha is a very short hop. So, no issues with the travel. She plays a qualifier in the first round.
So, yes, the turn around is short. But it is not daunting. I say she can make her meeting with Iga (QF's). That will tell us how well she is playing.
(And Iga is going against Collins, not an easy match)

[Suliso]

It's not the travel I was worried about. More mental exhaustion after such a tough final.

[ponchi101]

Don't you think it can cut the other way too? She saved three MP's, and won in a tough 3rd set (it is not as if Samsonova gave her the match). She should be very happy and confident after winning this.

[ashkor87]

Oh she can do well but she can't beat Iga on a slow hard court, don't think anyone can..the AO was fast enough, Doha probably isn't.

[JazzNU]

Would just like to point out that Rybakina's ranking is not just a result of no Wimbledon points, she's also to blame, Don't lose in the first round of the US Open to a player ranked in the 100s, not to mention a whole lot of pre-QFs exits in the last year and she's not even close to being in this position. Many seem to be acting like no Wimbledon ranking points is just the worst thing ever, but honestly, everyone else is dealing with the same handicap. And look at Sabalenka, Medvedev, and Rublev. No possible points from not just Wimbledon, but anything held in the UK, and they qualify for stuff, because they put up a consistent season.

Remember last season how Rybakina played so well at the mandatory tournaments making a few semis? You don't remember it because it didn't happen. Not a single one. It's part of her not being in the Top 20 rankings problem. Yes, she won Wimbledon, but it was an unremarkable 2022 season in many respects, which is partly why that win was somewhat of a surprise. The Wimbledon points would've masked her inconsistency if they were there as GS points have done for many other player thru the years.

She sort of seems to be back to that early 2020 player that was getting talked about so much. But only at the grand slams so far, right? And clearly not at the US Open. She's in the top 10 now. She'll catch up with the entry ranking points soon enough.