Iga Swiatek has blamed the WTA’s relentless schedule for her struggles on the court and warned that the longevity of top tennis stars will only suffer.
The world No.2 has had a difficult start to the year and, like fellow top-ranked stars Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka, remains title-less after her shock quarter-final loss to 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva at the Dubai Tennis Championships last week. Swiatek didn’t hold back after her surprise exit, blasting: “It’s a calendar thing. We’re not going to be able to be consistent for many years playing week by week.”
Her comments come as the WTA’s top three have yet to win a title in 2025. Gauff, after her Australian Open quarter-final loss to Paula Badosa, then crashed out in the first rounds of both the Qatar Open and the Dubai Open. Sabalenka’s post-Melbourne form also dipped with early exits to Ekaterina Alexandrova and Clara Tauson.
Even five-time Grand Slam winner Swiatek, who made deeper runs, fell 6-3, 6-3 to teenager Andreeva, who became the youngest-ever semi-finalist in the tournament’s history. The Pole added: “It’s not like some time ago that outside of, like, top-20 players, they were just getting destroyed more.
“Now anybody can win these tournaments. It has been like that for a couple of years. But I feel like the calendar is not helping. We need to switch continents, we need to switch surfaces, we need to switch the balls. It’s not easy. I’m not surprised.”
Meanwhile, Sabalenka, frustrated by her own slump in the Middle East, admitted: “Every time I don’t feel well playing here, health-wise I’m struggling. Australia always takes a lot of energy out of me.
“I believe that I’m not that hungry on court. I’m kind of like all over the place in my thoughts and not consistent.”
The rest of the WTA top 10 is also struggling. Jasmine Paolini has won just four matches this year, Jessica Pegula only five, and Emma Navarro, after her Australian Open quarter-final run, has won just twice since.
Swiatek’s concerns echo those of top ATP stars Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev last year. Alcaraz, after an exhausting Olympic run and early US Open exit, warned: “Probably they are going to kill us in some way.” Zverev was even more direct and said: “The ATP doesn’t care about our opinion—it’s a money business.”
Content Source: www.express.co.uk