World no.34 Anna Kalinskaya has criticised the Cincinnati Open scheduling ahead of her quarter-final clash against Iga Swiatek.
Kalinskaya beat her Russian compatriot Ekaterina Alexandrova 3-6 7-6 [7-5] 6-1 to reach the last eight of the WTA 1000 tournament.
Kalinskaya won after two hours and 16 minutes of play at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, but in the early hours of Thursday morning.
She then learned that her quarter-final match against Wimbledon champion Swiatek is scheduled before midday local time on Friday.
This led to Kalinskaya suggesting on Instagram that there is bias at play in the Cincinnati Open schedule.
“How can the WTA and tournament expect athletes to perform their best when the scheduling is this unfair?” she said.
“After my match against Alexandrova, I got home from the site at 2:40am and didn’t go to bed until 4am. I slept a bit and came to the site to practice.
“Then I get scheduled at 11am for tomorrow’s match – how does the tournament and WTA expect me to recover and continuously adjust my sleep pattern, which is one of the most important aspects of recovery?
“Seems a bit one sided.”
During her win against Alexandrova, Kalinskaya was left annoyed by some disruptive members of the crowd.
“I think maybe they’re drunk or something,” she told the umpire, who replied saying: “They probably are.”
Fortunately for Kalinskaya, she stayed composed and came from behind to reach the quarter-finals for the first time.
Swiatek hasn’t dropped a single set during her two matches so far.
She beat Anastasia Potapova in the second round before a walkover against Marta Kostyuk, and then defeated Sorana Cirstea.
What Kalinskaya said on facing Swiatek
Kalinskaya beat Swiatek in their first and only meeting so far in the semi-finals of the Dubai Tennis Championship last year.
And the 26-year-old is looking forward to playing against the world no.3 once again.
“I’m excited! I hope it’s going to be a great level match. Iga is such a fighter, so we’ll see what’s going to happen tomorrow,” Kalinskaya said immediately after her win over Alexandrova.
Kalinskaya then added: “I have no idea what time I play. I mean, I play today. Maybe I should just rest in the locker room.”
The Cincinnati Open is set to conclude on August 18, which is when qualifying for the US Open begins.
After the mixed doubles week, the men’s and women’s singles events will commence on August 24.