Iga Swiatek criticises ‘overwhelming’ tennis schedule and says stars play too much


Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek believes that tennis stars play too much and that her schedule over the next 11 months is “overwhelming”.

The Polish star believes that the schedule the players have to endure at the highest level is “crazy”.

“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.

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Swiatek: ‘Everybody knows how Amanda can play’

Video credit: SNTV

“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.”

The world No. 2 battled back from a set down to beat Ekaterina Alexandrova in the final of the Seoul Open.

It was the latest triumph in a successful year for the four-time French Open champion.

The WTA Finals will be the last WTA Tour event of the season, with the eight top-ranked players set to go head-to-head.

Swiatek regularly reaches the latter stages of tournaments and, as a result, has to compete in far more matches than the average player.

Pedro Martinez reached the third round of Wimbledon this year, his best performance at a Grand Slam since 2021.

He told Tennis365 that players should be more selective about which tournaments they miss if they regularly go deep into tournaments.

“I play a lot of tournaments, but I didn’t play a lot of matches,” said the Spaniard.

“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 to. 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.”

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