The Hungarian Ladies Open due to start on 17 February will most likely be cancelled, even though the WTA is still keeping the hope alive by showing the event on the calendar.
What happened here?
A True Story
The tournament was permanently advertised to take place in Budapest, similarly to the three previous years. In 2020, however, the usual venue had been booked to host a different competition, and the Tournament Director Attila Richter exactly knew about it. The WTA also received the information about the lack of an available site as early as November 2019, but both parties remained silent and still displayed Budapest as the host city.
The search for a suitable stadium outside Budapest began. The Tournament Director was looking for alternatives, but without success. Most likely he was deceiving the WTA by promising them positive results, and the WTA allowed players to enter this tournament without having a confirmed venue. The main draw entry deadline came on January 6, and the WTA calendar still showed Budapest, although there was no stadium and no Fact Sheet available.
Negotiations with a stadium in Debrecen, Hungary’s second largest city were under way early in January, but no agreement was signed, mainly because this site had also been already booked for other different activities during the period of the tournament. Still, the WTA started to show Debrecen as the host city. They also accepted qualification entries, and only on 28 January, less than three weeks before the scheduled start did they say „there is an issue with Debrecen.”
Both the Tournament Director, and the WTA plays an unacceptable and irresponsible role in this game. He did neglect his duties to provide a suitable site, and they failed to follow up on his activities. As a result, now some fifty top players lose one week of playing opportunity, not to mention their expenses (air-ticket, etc) that they already incurred in the false hope of being able to compete.
Who will be held responsible and who will compensate the players?