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In my opinion the WTA Finals have lost their status as the tour's crown jewel. Today the WTA Finals are just an ordinary tournament with a shitload of points, but their prestige and importance no longer add much to a player's resume. In the past, winning the WTA Finals was almost as important as winning a Grand Slam. From 1972 to 2015, the tournament had always been won by Grand Slam champions, with only one exception in 1982. Three of the last four editions have been captured by slamless champions instead, which is certainly not a good sign: Where were the big champions in those editions? While the Slams are constantly growing in terms of traditions, prestige and importance, the WTA Finals have gone downhill due to a bunch of questionable choices by the WTA management:
1) In order to build traditions, the WTA Finals need a steady location, ideally in a global city or a prestigious sports' arena. Moving the tournament around to a bunch of different locations and venues doesn't allow the tournament to grow or have any sort of continuity. It feels like a different and brand new tournament every three, five or ten years.
2) The Fall calendar is a mess. Players are chasing points in different parts of the globe with different time-zones and playing conditions. Most of them make it to the Finals completely exhausted. In September and October as a build-up to the Finals , there should be some low-key Premier and International events in cozy playing conditions, ideally indoors and in the same time-zone as the Finals.
1) In order to build traditions, the WTA Finals need a steady location, ideally in a global city or a prestigious sports' arena. Moving the tournament around to a bunch of different locations and venues doesn't allow the tournament to grow or have any sort of continuity. It feels like a different and brand new tournament every three, five or ten years.
2) The Fall calendar is a mess. Players are chasing points in different parts of the globe with different time-zones and playing conditions. Most of them make it to the Finals completely exhausted. In September and October as a build-up to the Finals , there should be some low-key Premier and International events in cozy playing conditions, ideally indoors and in the same time-zone as the Finals.