Iga Swiatek is through to another semi-final, this time seeking to add the Cincinnati Open to her already overflowing trophy cabinet.
The 23-year-old has enjoyed a supremely successful start to life as a professional tennis player, winning five Grand Slam titles and rising to world number one, a spot she is expected to retain for some time given her dominance over the field.
However, ever since Roland Garros ended, her form has been shaky, and the Polish powerhouse has regressed from a super-solid player to someone liable to be upset by a lesser opponent.
Whether that be fatigue or just a loss of form remains to be seen, but she has sought to justify why the former certainly has an impact.
Tennis fans send Iga Swiatek a clear message
Speaking after her quarter-final win over teenage sensation Mirra Andreeva, Swiatek claimed: ‘I think we have too many tournaments in the season. It’s not going to end well. It makes tennis less fun for us. I love playing in all these places but it’s pretty exhausting, most of the WTA players would tell you that.
‘We deserve to rest a little bit more.’
Novak Djokovic has had to decrease his schedule this year, taking some significant ranking hits, just to keep competing.
This is not an unpopular opinion on the tour, as she mentions, but the tennis community has rallied with one pretty common reply…
One disgruntled supporter summed things up with their statement: ‘Don’t participate [it’s] as simple as that. If you feel tired you just refuse! Not a big deal.’
Another echoed this earlier claim: ‘Stop! You don’t HAVE to play all of them or most of them!’
Iga Świątek makes a fair point about tennis scheduling
Whilst fans have every right to argue with the multi-millionaire athlete complaining about how much work they have to do, in the same breath, Iga Swiatek is right too.
After all, this is their livelihood, and the more they are forced to play and put pressure on their bodies, the more likely a serious injury could occur which halts their chance to earn money.
Tennis is a cutthroat sport, where you have to win to survive. There are no ludicrous wages like in football, which offer a steady and stable influx of cash every week.
Players in this sport have to win to earn, and injury prevents that from happening.
Not only that, but those complaining forget to realise just how many mandatory tournaments there are on the ATP and WTA, where, unless you are injured, you simply are not allowed to omit them from your calendar.
So, with at least four ATP 500 events, all Masters 1000 events and Grand Slam tournaments having to be played, plus any extras to boost your ranking and remain a professional tennis player, it is no wonder that players feel overworked.
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