“This is why women’s tennis should never have the same prize money as men’s” Fans mock WTA Finals for poor attendance on opening night
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WTA Finals 2022
WTA Finals is one of the most prestigious events in tennis, with only the top 8 female players in the WTA Rankings qualifying for this tournament. However, more interestingly, it has the maximum prize money for any WTA tournament comparable to only the Grand Slams.
The 2022 Finals’ group stage matches of the singles event began Friday night at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth. However, it was startling to see how few people showed up to watch the action in the stands. This match was the first head-on arranged in the Nancy Richey Group.
Jessica Pegula, the US No.1 female tennis player, squared up against Maria Sakkari in the first match of the WTA Finals. Pegula did not appear to enjoy having a home advantage in the match given the minimal to nonexistent crowd support for the American. The venue where the contest took place was almost empty, with only a few hundred spectators in attendance for the match.
Eminent sports journalist Jose Morgado took to social media to express his disappointment with the sad scenes witnessed at the WTA Finals in 2022.
Although the tournament has just started and it might pick up the expected pace in the next few matches, the first-match crowd has been quite a disappointment for the tennis community. Meanwhile, in the match, the Greek defeated the American on the latter’s home soil in straight sets. She took revenge on the American for her loss in the final of the Guadalajara Open just a few days ago. Now, both the ladies will face Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in their next respective matches.
Social media reacts to poor marketing and low attendance at WTA Finals 2022
Everyone expected that this year’s WTA Finals will bring a lot of spectators into the stadium after two whole years of witnessing COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns all around the world. But it came as a surprise to many people that the number of fans attending the actual match was extremely low in the Maria Sakkari vs Jessica Pegula match.
As expected, the picture went insanely viral on multiple social media platforms, eliciting a plethora of reactions online. Judging by the comments, while the majority of viewers expressed their disappointment with the marketing plan of the WTA team, a few even poked fun at the difference between women’s and men’s tennis.
Sharing a wide spectrum of reactions online, here’s what fans had to say:
Many users were just amazed to see the level of enthusiasm in the United States of America regarding the tournament.
A few Twitter users took a jibe at the WTA’s failure to garner a good audience base for the competition.
While the first match crowd was rather disappointing for the players as well as tennis lovers, it’s probably because of the Halloween fever, and the match will pick up its expected pace in the near future.
Also Read: Carlos Alcaraz denies rivalry with Rafael Nadal, insists that the World No.2 isn’t his “enemy”
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