Is the tennis season pushing players to their limits? Is it time to rethink the sport’s marathon schedule for a healthier future? Iga Swiatek has taken a bold stance against the grueling schedule of the tennis season, urging for a change that could redefine the sport. Her voice resonates with the sentiments of many, including Sloane Stephens. She was blunt about the stresses of the tennis calendar in an open discussion on the Tennis Insider Club podcast, calling the need to compete “one of the bad things.”

She discussed the physical and mental toll it takes on players, emphasizing how the unrelenting demands frequently force athletes to compete even when they’re not in their best form. She stated, “Like you’re just there because like if you don’t want to sign or you don’t you’re supposed to be or you enter the tournament or you don’t have any more withdrawals like you’re just like I’m present but I’m not like mentally and not here, but I feel like that’s just kind of one of the bad things about the tour.”

Following that, she added, “Both tours ATP and WTA, is that you’re kind of forced to play, even when you’re probably not in the best mental capacity, you’re probably not the best physical shape, or you might be injured or whatever it is, and you just arrive because that’s what you’re supposed to do.”

According to the current WTA rulebook, top players are required to participate in at least 20 tournaments (21 including the Tour Finals). This includes the four Grand Slams, the ten WTA 1000 events (five of which last two weeks), six WTA 500 tournaments, and the WTA Finals. In total, this schedule spans 29 weeks. This means players will be required to compete in a minimum of 21 tournaments throughout the year, leaving little time for rest and recovery.

Furthermore, the addition of further two-week combined events for men and women below the Grand Slam level has come under fire because it takes away from players’ valuable recovery and preparation time in between matches. Naturally, a few months ago, even the world No. 1, Iga Swiatek, expressed her concerns.

Iga Swiatek’s faced criticism over her scheduling take

In a TV interview at the Cincinnati Open, Iga Swiatek expressed her dissatisfaction with the demanding tournament schedule after making it to the Cincinnati Open quarterfinals. “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.

She further added, “We want to at least be in the loop. It would be nice for us to have some impact because I don’t think our sport is going in the right direction.” In the tennis world, Swiatek’s honest views regarding the scheduling did not sit well with everyone, chief among them being former player Yevgeny Kafelnikov.

Former world #1 and two times singles Grand Slam champion is of the opinion, “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??✌️😉,” igniting a discussion about the demands made of athletes.

Nevertheless, athletes are left with little ability to arrange their calendars in accordance with their physical and psychological requirements.