Tennis-WTA defends late start to Italian Open women's final

Tennis - Italian Open - Foro Italico, Rome, Italy - May 21, 2023 The Italian Open winner Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina and second placed Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina pose with their trophies REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane

(Reuters) - The WTA defended the Italian Open's decision to reschedule the women's final between Elena Rybakina and Anhelina Kalinina to 11 p.m (2100 GMT) on a rain-affected Saturday, after former player Rennae Stubbs called the move an "abomination."

On a frustrating day for organisers of the Masters event, players and fans, the men's singles semi-final featuring Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas was interrupted multiple times because of rain with nearly five hours of play lost.