Aussie tennis dudded by scheduling 'disaster' as officials face fresh backlash

Aussie doubles sensation Ellen Perez has called out the WTA for their horror schedule after appearing unable to reach her next match at the Billie Jean King Cup. Rain and wild weather wreaked havoc all week at the WTA Finals in Cancun.

And Perez took part in the rain-delayed WTA Finals doubles decider with her American partner Nicole Melichar-Martinez on Tuesday morning (AEDT), which saw her go down in straight sets. However, the delay meant she was left stranded in Cancun as she attempted to reach Spain in time on Tuesday for the Billie Jean King tie.

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The Australian took to social media on Monday and asked anyone if they had a spare 'private jet' to help her reach the destination on time. "Anyone got a private jet and want to fly me from Cancun to Seville tomorrow night to make it in time for BJKC Tuesday 10am match," she wrote.

"Really not impressed with this scheduling disaster. Why do I have to be punished for this."

Unfortunately, she wasn't the only Aussie in the Billie Jean King Cup team who was impacted. Storm Hunter, who made the semi-final of the tournament but was eliminated, left a few hours earlier. However, she remains in extreme doubt to be ready to play.

This left team leader Alicia Molik with three players potentially available for the tie. "I'm hoping she arrives feeling wonderful but she might warm up and then I don't know. It's up to her if she wants to play or not," Molik said.

"She's experienced enough. I'm just conservative. If she doesn't feel quite right, she's got the right to say 'save me for Thursday'. I mean, it's 18-hour door-to-door trip so anyone can be forgiven for not wanting to play as they land."

The tennis world was left absolutely baffled at the ridiculous scheduling from the WTA.

While she won't formally announce her line-up until an hour before the tie starts at 8pm (AEDT), Molik is leaning towards going with Daria Saville and Ajla Tomljanovic as her singles picks. "They are our two most experienced players," she said.

Molik said if Hunter is able to play, she will allow the experienced doubles player to choose her partner. "She's No.1 in the world - she can pick whoever she wants to play with," Molik said.

"I'll be on the court with the two singles players so so that's something that she'll have to quietly decide herself. Whatever happens, I think we should beat Slovenia and at some point you have to trust your players to make the right calls."

Iga Swiatek wins WTA Finals

The WTA Finals has caused controversy this year with World No.1 Iga Swiatek and other top stars hitting out at the playing conditions for the season-ending tournament in Mexico. Swiatek defeated Jessica Pegula in the final, but was left frustrated with the conditions earlier in the week.

Swiatek echoed concerns from Aryna Sabalenka around the safety of the playing surface in Cancun, with the Belarusian slamming the organisation of the event as "not acceptable" from the women's governing body. "It's not comfortable, and the fact that we also didn't have time to practice," Swiatek said.

The Pole's defeated opponent in the group stage, Marketa Vondrousova, was even more blunt and described the court as "honestly, very bad. It's very crazy."

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