“It’s an important topic,” Chris Evert defends Iga Swiatek after she calls for WTA to tweak exhausting tennis calendar

Former American pro Chris Evert has defended Iga Swiatek after the Pole urged the WTA to tweak the exhausting tennis calendar.

“It’s an important topic,” Chris Evert defends Iga Swiatek after she calls for WTA to tweak exhausting tennis calendar

Iga Swiatek and Chris Evert (Images via Imago)

Former World No. 1 Chris Evert has defended Iga Swiatek after she stated that the WTA Tour should lighten the number of tournaments during the year to protect the players. She opined that there were too many tournaments in the season and too many high-stakes matches for players to navigate through.

While Swiatek’s words divided opinion among fans and pundits, former American pro Evert came to her defense. She said that she could understand the Pole’s concerns and added that it was an important topic to discuss.

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I certainly can understand Iga Swiatek concern about playing too many tournaments, especially when you go deep in tournaments every week. Adding in the Olympics and much more depth in the game, it’s an important topic….
Chris Evert wrote on X

Swiatek, who won the French Open this year while reaching the third rounds at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, was recently in action at the Paris Olympics. She reached the semifinals and lost to China’s Qinwen Zheng 6-2, 7-5.

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The 23-year-old, though disappointed at not reaching the final, managed to take home the bronze medal by beating Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-2, 6-1 in the bronze medal match.

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Iga Swiatek and Mirra Andreeva (via Imago)

Iga Swiatek beats Mirra Andreeva, sets semifinal clash with Aryna Sabalenka at Cincinnati Open

Iga Swiatek fought from a set down to overcome teenager Mirra Andreeva and stay alive at the Cincinnati Open. She beat the 17-year-old 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 in two hours and 30 minutes to book her spot in the semifinals.

Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka
Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka (via Tennis.com and Canalplus)

Swiatek has played 10 quarterfinal matches this season and has won all of them. By beating Andreeva, she registered her 30th win at a WTA 1000 level this year. Only Serena Williams (36 wins in 2013) has won more matches at this level in a single season in the last 15 years.

Next up for the World No. 1 is a clash with Aryna Sabalenka, who cruised past Liudmila Samsonova 6-3, 6-2 in one hour and 19 minutes. Swiatek and Sabalenka are set to lock horns for the 12th time on the WTA tour.

Swiatek leads Sabalenka 8-2 in the head-to-head. They have faced twice already this year, in the finals of Madrid and Rome, with the Olympic bronze medallist coming out on top both times. The pair’s semifinal clash is scheduled to take place on Sunday (August 18).

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