Tennis calendar labeled ‘crazy’ in ‘we play too much’ complaint from former No.1
Iga Swiatek has labelled the tennis schedule as “crazy” and said “we play too much” in a complaint about the number of tournaments professional players are expected to take part in.
Swiatek is currently in Beijing at the start of the Asian tour having won the WTA Seoul title last week but it comes after an already gruelling season in which the Polish player has competed in 70 singles matches.
After the China Open, she will then take part in the Wuhan Open with the WTA Finals in Riyadh beginning at the start of November and when asked about the packed calendar, Swiatek said it was “overwhelming”.
“I think we play too much and the schedule is crazy,” she said. “I try to divide the year into each part of the season and focus on what’s coming up, otherwise it’s difficult.
“After a four-week preseason and eight-day vacation, if I look at the end of December and see what awaits me over the next 11 months, it’s overwhelming.
“It’s best to take it step by step because the schedule is demanding and difficult.”
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Men’s player Pedro Martinez recently spoke to Tennis365 and said for him the schedule is manageable but if players go deep in a tournament, they “have to choose” which events they can afford to miss.
“I play a lot of tournaments, but I didn’t play a lot of matches,” he said. “So I think it’s something that you have to choose.
“Maybe if you play well in one tournament and you play five matches, it’s more in one week than maybe you play five tournaments and you don’t play well, and in five weeks you play six matches. So it’s not that much at all.
“But now with the two-week Masters 1000, the calendar is longer. More days in the tournaments but I mean you can choose if you want to play or not. You can prepare for some tournaments. You can practice. It’s something that you have to choose.
“There are some mandatory tournaments you have to go. Maybe you can skip one or two of them, you get some penalties, but then it’s in your hands to choose which 500 you want to play.”
Swiatek meanwhile also admitted she focused too much on being No.1 and that she has been able to put it out of her mind as the year went on.
“I don’t behave differently because I’m No.2 in the world, and I don’t think about it every day, much less on match days,” she said. “Maybe I’m a little different because I’m older and more experienced.
“At the beginning of the year, I did think too much about being number one and had to share my thoughts on Instagram. But that was only for a few weeks, and I can’t change the way I play. It wouldn’t be healthy and would have too much of an impact.”
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