Former Wimbledon quarter-finalist Daria Kasatkina has criticised the WTA for downgrading the Eastbourne Open from a WTA 500 to a WTA 250 event.
Kasatkina won in Eastbourne last year but she was defeated by Lulu Sun in the first round of her title defence on Monday.
Beforehand, on the diminished number of ranking points on offer, she ranted: “That sucks, honestly. I don’t understand this decision.
“I think Eastbourne is one of the oldest tournaments we’ve got on tour. It’s a tournament with big history. As I remember, it was always a 500, so it’s a very nice tournament, and I just didn’t see the reason to downgrade it to a 250.”