Iga Swiatek calls for changes to ‘crazy scheduling’ in tennis
Iga Swiatek has pleaded with tennis authorities to “focus more on what is healthy for players” following the scheduling controversy at the Canadian Open, adding it doesn’t always make sense to start matches so late.
Persistent rain in Toronto caused havoc during the WTA 1000 event last week with several matches delayed and/or postponed.
Swiatek’s third-round clash with Karolina Muchova was played over nine hours as it was a stop-start affair while her quarter-final clash with Danielle Collins was pushed back.
Meanwhile, Elena Rybakina’s match against Daria Kasatkina finished just before 3am on Saturday morning before her semi-final match with Liudmila Samsonova was postponed until Sunday. Samsonova ended up beating Rybakina, but she then had to return to action a few hours later for the final against Jessica Pegula and she was soundly beaten.
Rybakina was unimpressed in the aftermath of her exit as she slammed the WTA leadership, describing them as “little bit weak”.
READ MORE: Elena Rybakina hits out at WTA leadership – ‘It’s a little bit weak’
And Swiatek feels it is time that the powers that be focus on what is best for the players and not the fans or tournaments.
“For sure, weather is something we can’t really predict, but maybe we should focus more on what is healthy for players because we have to compete every week,” she said. “The tour is so intense with travel and not actually having two days of calm and not working that it would be nice in the future to focus on players, especially next year when there will be more and more mandatory tournaments and longer tournaments.”
Tournament organisers, of course, will point to the fact that they have to consider television broadcasters when it comes to scheduling of matches.
However, Swiatek feels it doesn’t make sense to play so late.
“In Rome, I already told you guys the scheduling is crazy. But then during the clay season in Rome and Madrid I played four matches close to midnight or after midnight I finished them. It wasn’t as obvious as Elena’s situation last week.”
She added: “I understand we have to adjust to broadcasters and everything, but I also asked the WTA for some data to see if people are watching matches that start past 10pm. I didn’t get anything, but it would be easier to actually understand that it makes sense to play that late.”
World No 2 Aryna Sabalenka also had problems with scheduling during the clay-court season as she had to play in Rome just a few days after winning the Madrid Open. She ended up losing against Sofia Kenin.
“Aryna played the first day and she honestly said she was exhausted and couldn’t recover from Madrid and she lost,” Swiatek said. “I requested to play second day but because of my request, I was always scheduled for the second match of the night session. It’s pretty hard to handle it when you have to play in the middle of the night for a couple of weeks.
“And It’s not like we’re finishing and going to sleep after two hours. For me, I’m happy if I go to sleep four hours after I finish. I have almost one hour of treatment, obviously media, I have to stretch after the match, food, and then getting the adrenaline down isn’t easy as well. I wish it could change, that’s all.”
