There is hardly any player who steps into a match without a strategy. Be it Martina Navratilova or Serena Williams, all legendary WTA stars had some personalized stunts that helped them secure big wins. Poland’s, Iga Swiatek, is no exception to that. While her tactics helped her in the Cincinnati Open recently, the former American tennis player shares her apprehension about it.

Long bathroom breaks are something which have caused many arguments in tennis. There are many sides to the argument, with most leaning towards limiting the time for such breaks. In the past, long breaks have often disrupted matches, and as per Coco Vandeweghe, Swiatek is guilty of using the tactic.

As Swiatek awaits her semifinal clash against Aryna Sabalenka, the former American WTA star shared her opinion about Swiatek’s tactical moves to gain an advantage over her opponents. Mentioning that “it’s been spoken about, Iga’s tactic of going to the bathroom, changing her kit, taking her time, ALWAYS after losing a set,” Vandeweghe claimed, “If I was still playing, I would definitely be very aware of it… she’s trying to disrupt my rhythm…” 

Vandeweghe’s statement showed she wasn’t impressed with the world number 1’s on-court tactics to win matches. However, like Swiatek many renowned tennis players used tactical methods to defuse the opponent’s strength. For example, former Olympic gold-medalist Serena Williams used her ball toss method which made her serve look the same no matter where she planned to place it. This stunt not only helped Williams to hit accurate serves but confused her opponent about where she would hit, in her opponent’s forehand, backhand, or body.

Like Vandeweghe, Swiatek’s opponent in the Wimbledon third-round, Yulia Putintseva, also spoke about the Polish tennis star’s habit of extended breaks. However, she wasn’t as annoyed as Vandeweghe. “I was not annoyed, but she took a lot of time off the court, I don’t know what the rules are. She just went to the toilet break.“

“I don’t know like what happened or how many minutes she was taking. Honestly at some point, I was so bored. I thought she was coming. Then I was like moving, moving, she’s not there. Again moving, she’s not there. I was kind of getting bored. Then I was just super excited about the third set, that I was playing so well,“ said Putintseva.

Although Swiatek found an early exit against Putintseva in Wimbledon, she defeated Mirra Andreeva to reach Cincinnati’s quarterfinals with this tactic. Despite her win in the quarterfinals, Swiatek revealed her tiredness due to hectic tournament scheduling.

Iga Swiatek said playing too many tournaments is “pretty exhausting“

Swiatek might make an impressive run at the Cincinnati with her tactics but she is concerned about losing her interest in the sport. Mentioning the ATP and WTA stars’ busy timetable, this Polish WTA star said, “so what can I say I’ve been kind of an advocate, saying that well, we shouldn’t be pushing and pushing for us to play more, Obviously, it’s not our decision, but for sure, I think we have too many tournaments in the season. It’s not gonna end well as it’s just it makes tennis less fun for us, Let’s just say, I mean, obviously, I love playing all these places but it’s pretty exhausting.”

Swiatek’s statement brought the reality behind tennis’s glamorous life. While some criticized her opinion, Swiatek still believed the majority would accept her assessment. “Especially when you’re playing at the high level and, you know, going to high ranking tournaments. We deserve to rest a little bit more obviously maybe.” She accepted that fans might not like her for the comment, but she firmly believes the WTA Tour needs to reduce mandatory tournaments.

Despite challenges, it is remarkable to see Swiatek playing brilliantly in the 2024 Cincinnati Open. While some players are apprehensive about the WTA star’s on-court tactic, it is safe to say those tricks are helping her to secure her wins in the matches.