Iga Swiatek Blames Tennis Scheduling for Contributing to the Player’s Injuries in the Later Part of the Season

Iga Swiatek has talked about tennis scheduling many times in the past few years.

Iga Swiatek Blames Tennis Scheduling for Contributing to the Player’s Injuries in the Later Part of the Season

Iga Swiatek (Image via X/Jimmie48 Photography)

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Iga Swiatek has criticized the WTA’s mandatory tournament rules, calling them difficult to manage. The world No. 1 suggested she may need to skip certain events in order to protect her health and avoid burnout.

Her remarks follow earlier comments where she described the schedule as overwhelming. Swiatek has been vocal about the demands placed on top players, insisting that the calendar forces them to compete too often.

Yeah, I think it’s a smart question ’cause obviously the season is long. The second part of it I think people are more fatigued. For sure, unfortunately I think the Asian Swing is the hardest part because you feel like the season is going to finish soon, but you still need to push. For me, like, I don’t know yet how my career is going to look like in couple years. Maybe I will have to choose some tournaments and skip them, even though they are mandatory. Yeah, like WTA with all these mandatory rules, they made this pretty crazy for us.

Iga Swiatek said in her post-match press conference

Under WTA rules, highly ranked players must enter all four Grand Slams, 10 WTA 1000 tournaments, and at least six WTA 500 events each year. Missing a mandatory event counts as a zero in ranking points, leaving little flexibility for rest.

I don’t think any top player will actually be able to achieve this, for example, playing the six 500 tournaments. It’s just impossible to squeeze it in the schedule. But yeah, I think we have to be smart about it, not really unfortunately care about the rules and just think what’s healthy for us. Yeah, it’s tough. The only thing I can do now, when I decided I’m going to play all these mandatory tournaments, is to just take care of my body, take care of the recovery. I have a good team around me also that is helping me with that. I’m experienced enough to know kind of what to do. So physically I am good. But yeah, there are a lot of injuries. I think it is because the season is too long and too intense

Iga Swiatek added

Swiatek reached the last 16 of the China Open after Camila Osorio retired during their match. In her press conference, she noted the number of player withdrawals in Beijing and admitted she may adjust her schedule moving forward. Her next challenge will be against 16th seed Emma Navarro in the fourth round.

Iga Swiatek advances in Beijing as Camila Osorio retires

Top seed Iga Swiatek moved into the fourth round of the China Open after Camila Osorio was forced to retire with an abdominal injury. The Colombian stopped early in the second set after losing the opener 6-0. Despite the scoreline, most of the games in the first set were tightly contested, with five going to deuce.

Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek (Image via X/Jimmy48 Photography)

Osorio took a medical timeout at 5-0 down in the first set but returned briefly. After a double fault left her trailing 0-40 in the second set’s opening game, she was unable to continue. The retirement gave Swiatek her 17th 6-0 set of the season, the most on tour this year. Ekaterina Alexandrova is a distant second with seven.

Next, Swiatek will face Emma Navarro, who also advanced after her opponent retired. Navarro’s match ended when Lois Boisson stopped due to a thigh injury while trailing 6-2, 1-0. This sets up an intriguing clash between the top seed and the American in the last 16.

Swiatek has dominated their past meetings. She defeated Navarro 6-0, 6-2 in Charleston back in 2018 and repeated with a 6-1, 6-2 win in this year’s Australian Open quarterfinals. With both players advancing in unusual fashion, their Beijing encounter promises to be a fresh test.

Iga Swiatek reaches 400 WTA wins

Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek celebrated her 400th career victory by reaching the fourth round of the China Open. The world No. 1 continued her strong form with another commanding performance in Beijing.

Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek (Image via Punto de Break)

Swiatek dominated Camila Osorio in the opening set, winning 6-0, before the Colombian was forced to retire early in the second. The result also marked Swiatek’s 25th or more win at WTA 1000 events for the third season in a row, underlining her consistency at the highest level.

The top seed, fresh off her title in Seoul at the Korea Open, will now meet American Emma Navarro. Navarro advanced after Lois Boisson retired with a thigh problem while trailing in their third-round clash.

Elsewhere, Jessica Pegula produced a dramatic comeback to defeat Emma Raducanu. The fifth seed saved three match points and turned the match around, winning 3-6, 7-6(9), 6-0 to improve her head-to-head record against the Briton to 3-1.