Coco Gauff has had her say after the tournament director of the Dubai Tennis Championships called for some of her biggest rivals to have their ranking points stripped for pulling out of the event at the 11th hour. World Nos. 1 and 2 Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek both withdrew ahead of the WTA 1000 event, with Sabalenka citing a hip injury, while Swiatek, who lost in last week’s Doha quarter-finals, wanted a change of schedule.

Salah Tahlak has since suggested that top players face harsher penalties for withdrawing from tournaments just before they start, claiming that fines weren’t a sufficient deterrent. The Dubai tournament director claimed the reasons for their withdrawals were “a bit strange” and questioned whether Sabalenka’s injury was severe enough.

He told The National: “I don’t know. I think there should be a harsher punishment on the players [for withdrawing], not just fines, they should be docked ranking points. I even asked the [tournament] doctor, what is the injury? He said it’s a minor injury, not one that would force her to withdraw from the tournament. And for Iga, I asked, ‘Isn’t this a strange decision?’

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“I think a fine will not do anything. I feel they should deduct points from the players. A monetary fine won’t help. Many years ago, Serena Williams withdrew and was fined $100,000. But what is $100,000? She would play someplace else and make $1,000,000. So the fine isn’t a big deal.”

Tahlak is hoping to raise these concerns at a meeting in Rome later this year. But world No. 4 Gauff, who is in action at this week’s WTA 1000 in Dubai, believes the tournament director’s’ views are too harsh and unfair.

“I mean, for me, I don’t think I’ve ever really pulled out of a 1000 that I can remember off the top of my head. Yeah, I definitely don’t think players do it, like they just don’t want to play. I don’t think it’s that decision. You look at, like, burnout throughout the year. Although maybe it might not affect you now, it will affect you later,” the two-time Major winner explained.

“I feel like, for me, this part of the season I have always struggled, I think just because of the transition and things like that. Do I think players should be docked points? Not really. We already have the mandatory. We get zeros on our ranking for everything. For this point in the schedule, I think it’s hard to play all the tournaments now that they’re two weeks. I think the ask of players are becoming more and more and more.

“I do understand the tournament side. They obviously want the players there. In the past I think top players have always come to Doha and Dubai. This draw has historically been a tough draw. I understand it’s unfortunate this year. I don’t think it’s fair for players to get docked points. I think, if anything, we should have an optional 1000 like the men do with Monte-Carlo. Yeah, I think that’s a little bit harsh in my opinion.”

The relentless tennis schedule and the number of mandatory 1000 and 500-point events on the women’s tour have been a key talking point in recent years, with some players admitting they must skip tournaments and receive penalties in order to have enough time to rest and work on their games.

Sabalenka and Swiatek are among those who have previously been docked ranking points later in the season for failing to fulfil mandatory tournament requirements. These are known as zero-pointers – at the end of the year, the WTA will remove ranking points from players who did not compete in enough required events.

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