WTA Chennai Open: Delay to singles final over rain and smog draws controversy
Magda Linette and Janice Tjen were involved in a postponed WTA 250 Chennai Open singles final at the SDAT stadium in Chennai on Sunday evening after play was repeatedly delayed, a sequence that has provoked criticism of the organisers. The match was eventually moved to Monday morning and the postponement drew public complaints from players and coaches.
The final had been scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday but was delayed three times because of rain. Once the rain relented, organisers dried the centre court at the SDAT stadium and rescheduled the match for 9 p.m., but smog from Deepavali firecrackers made the air hazardous and the fixture had to be shifted to 11 a.m. on Monday.
Janice Tjen’s coach, Christopher Bint, posted on Instagram late on Sunday night that the organisers wanted the final to be played despite the poor air quality and attached a screenshot showing an AQI of 1556 in Chennai. “And they still wanted the match to go ahead,” he wrote, and after Monday’s summit clash he added, “Maybe, it could have just been postponed a little bit earlier.”
Magda Linette said the scheduling of the doubles final also affected available time, noting that the doubles final had started at 4 p.m. on Sunday. “We should have put the doubles final way earlier which would have given us a lot of time,” said the 34-year-old Pole.
Tournament director Hiten Joshi explained the decision-making process and the need for external approval, saying, “In these emergencies, the tournament supervisor (Sheetal Iyer) has to get permission from the WTA. So, they were going back and forth, and she also wanted to wait to see if any play was possible.”
The rescheduled singles final was played at 11 a.m. on Monday and resulted in Poland’s Magda Linette defeating Indonesia’s Janice Tjen in three sets. Tjen entered the match as the reigning champion.
The completion of the rescheduled match ended the singles event at the WTA 250 Chennai Open, with Linette’s three-set victory concluding the tournament’s singles competition.