Jam-packed schedules have been a bane for many tennis players. Iga Swiatek has talked about her struggles with a packed tennis schedule multiple times and did so in the Cincinnati Open as well. Swiatek, who had an opinion on the matter before the 2024 Italian Open, dropped a comment representing her struggle to maintain her interest in the sport and found herself slammed by a former Russian star. Taking a dig at Swiatek’s recent comment, this former ATP star released his anger over the issue. 

Swiatek defeated Mirra Andreeva 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the quarterfinals of Cincinnati to reach the semifinals, where she will play against Aryna Sabalenka. After her entrance to the semifinals, Swiatek complained about the hectic scheduling of the tournaments. “I think we have too many tournaments in the season. It’s not going to end well.. It makes tennis less fun for us.. we deserve to rest a little bit more,“ Swiatek said after the match.

Former Russian ATP star Kafelnikov Yevgeny looked at Swiatek’s statement and complained that nobody pushed the Polish to participate in the tournaments if she found the schedules were tight. “is someone pushing you to play ??? All you fricking do is complain!! I’ll tell you what you deserve ! You deserve to get paid a lot less than you do now!! How about that??✌️😉,” he said.

This is not Swiatek’s first statement about players’ hectic schedules. Before the 2024 Italian Open, Swiatek shared a similar thought. She said, “Scheduling-wise, the planning is going to be more important, sometimes even [missing] some tournaments that are important for you, for you to be ready for the next one.“ Speaking about breaks and celebrating victories, Swiatek mentioned, “Even if I win [a tournament], it doesn’t stick in my head. I celebrate for one day, then I’m off to another tournament … in my head.“

Furthermore, WTA players have to attend 18 mandatory tournaments throughout the season. One can’t deny the pressures of the tennis players. This season, we saw very little time between Wimbledon and the Paris Olympics.

Coco Gauff, who attended the 2024 Canadian Open right after the Paris Olympics, was unsure about her form in the WTA 1000. Many WTA and ATP stars have spoken about this persistent issue and taken some action for their health. For example, Kazakhstani WTA star Elena Rybakina withdrew from the 2024 Italian Open despite being the tournament’s defending champion.

Elena Rybakina said she was “really tired“ after withdrawing from the Italian Open

This Kazakhstani tennis player echoed a similar word to Swiatek when she didn’t participate in the Italian Open. “I was really tired. I think these tournaments which became so long, it’s not very helpful, I would say, because if you’re fit, you’re fit, you’re going to play every day and the tournament finishes. But to stay in one place for almost two weeks, and it’s not like here you finish and you go rest,“ she said.

Rybakina’s words directly pointed out the hectic scheduling, long duration of the matches, and the lack of rest that leave tennis players with anxiety and difficulties in maintaining an improved form. Nevertheless, Swiatek still proved that she is a star of her game no matter the difficulties she might be facing.

Yevgeney’s statements did not sit well with tennis fans, as they are flaming him left and right. Even Daria Kastkina stepped up for Swiatek by showing the difference in the achievements of both players. Where do you stand on his statements?