Earlier, Puig joined a bevy of well-known faces in questioning the 21-time Grand Slam winner’s qualification for the year-ending tournament in light of the 2022 Wimbledon women’s singles champion Elena Rybakina not qualifying for the WTA Finals, which is currently underway in Fort Worth, Texas. Puig took to Twitter and wrote:

Puig’s claim was invalid, however, because the ATP and WTA have different entry requirements into the ATP and WTA Finals. A player who is ranked in the top 7 at the end of the season automatically qualifies for the ATP Finals. The eighth position is set aside for a player who won a Grand Slam tournament that year and is ranked between eighth and twentieth.

On the other hand, the top 8 singles players and top 8 doubles teams in the WTA rankings at year’s end secure their spots in the finals.

Since Djokovic won a Grand Slam in 2022 (Wimbledon) and is ranked 7th in the world, it aided him to secure a spot in the ATP Finals. Meanwhile, Rybakina didn’t qualify as she is ranked 21st in the world, despite winning the title at SW19.

Facing criticism as a result of her statements, Monica Puig took to Twitter once again to clarify that she had nothing against Djokovic and that she simply didn’t realize the regulations for the ATP and the WTA were different.

She went on to add that she had been in “countless” meetings with the WTA CEO and board, seeking to make both tours similar, and she genuinely had no idea the rules were different.

Finally, the Olympic gold medalist advised the naysayers to leave her alone, saying that she had no intention of gaining likes and followers through this ploy.

Novak Djokovic sets up 3R clash with Karen Khachanov at 2022 Paris Masters

Defending champion Novak Djokovic defeated Maxime Cressy in the second round on Tuesday to get his quest for a record-extending 39th Masters title underway.

The former World No. 1, who received a bye into the second round, defeated the American 7-6(1) 6-4. The 21-time Grand Slam champion has now won 10 matches in a row and will next go up against Karen Khachanov, who beat Marc-Andera Huesler in three sets.

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