The Poles took second place in the United Cup for the second time in a row. In the final, Iga Świątek did not face Coco Gauff, and Hubert Hurkacz, despite his ambitious attitude, lost after a tie-break to Taylor Fritz. Thus, the title went to the Americans. However, there is still talk about what happened in Saturday's semi-final. After the Poles defeated Kazakhstan 3-0, Elena Rybakina threw a stone into the organizers' garden.
This is why Rybakina lost to Świątek. She found a reason
The sixth racket in the world was already leading with Świątek 5:3, but eventually lost in the first set after a tie-break, and then lost to four. This led to the elimination of the entire team, because earlier her friend Aleksandr Szewczenko had been outplayed by Hubert Hurkacz. During the press conference, she indicated what her biggest problem was. – It was difficult for me to move around the court because right after long rallies I felt very physically tired, but I did my best – she said, quoted by Sportskeeda.com.
She also immediately indicated the reason for her tiredness. And it was… a long journey. – Of course it's not easy to fly. It was a four-and-a-half to five-hour flight, and then you only have a day and a half to prepare, she explained. The grievances are not completely out of the ordinary. The team from Kazakhstan was in a completely different situation than the Polish one. It's all because of the format of the event.
Rybakina demands changes in the United Cup. “It would be so much better.”
The United Cup is hosted in two cities – Sydney and Perth. Poles stayed in the former from the beginning to the end of the event. The Kazakhs played the group stage and quarterfinals in Perth, and had to move to Sydney for the semifinals. The problem is that both towns are located on opposite ends of Australia and are separated by over 3,000 km. kilometers. The flight between them takes over four hours.
Rybakina does not want to use this as an excuse, but she gave a clear signal that the organizers should consider changing the format. – Of course it's not enough. Other teams have the same thing. But I agree that it would be ideal if we all played in one place, it would be much better for everyone, she concluded.