Iga Swiatek has criticized WTA for “wanting to have more and more” without taking into account the well-being and health of players.
The Pole suggested to stretch the duration of WTA 1000 events to 2-weeks and revealed players are “really united to have an impact and do something.” WTA has attracted heavy criticism for players and tennis fraternity after the awful organization of the WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico which concluded on Monday. The year-end Championships were announced to be held in Cancun on Sep 7 well before the start of the showpiece tournament.
The makeshift hard courts installed at the Estadio Paradisus venue for the Finals were not ready for play when the players arrived in Cancun meaning they were denied the prior practices. The top 8 also criticized the substandard quality of the court surface that offered invariable bounce during their matches.
Wild windy conditions and heavy rain followed by extended interruptions and match suspensions also raised questions over the selection of time and venue for the tournament in Mexico where hurricanes are common at this time of the year.
Against all odds in Cancun, the Swiatek dominated the WTA Finals field to clinch her maiden title at the season-ending championships as she didn’t drop a single set enroute to the final.
In a display of sheer dominance, the World No. 1 dismantled #5 ranked Jessica Pegula 6-1, 6-0 in the championship match on Monday to seal the year-end No. 1 finish. Talking at a press conference at the WTA Finals in Cancun, Swiatek, voiced concerns over the WTA pressing to increase and add more mandatory tournaments on the tour.
“Obviously, I’ve been on tour for four years. But this is the first time the top players and lower ranked players are really kind of united to have an impact and to do something. Because yes, we’re not happy with some things and we want to change the schedule for next year,” said the Pole.
“We’re gonna have much more mandatory tournaments and it’s gonna have a huge negative impact on our health and well-being. I’m 22 and I’ve played two of the most intense seasons in my life and I already feel like it’s gonna be tough for me to continue for so many years ahead if WTA is gonna go that way to increase the amount of mandatory tournaments.
“Most of the 1000 tournaments are going to be two weeks in future years, which is also gonna kind of affect our time at home and time in between the tournaments. So I feel like everything is just based on wanting to have more and more but not really taking care of our well-being and health.
“There are some things that WTA could change for us, without an impact on the things they already agreed with the tournaments. Hopefully these changes are gonna come and we’re gonna find a compromise where everybody is kind of happy.
“But for sure, only talking about the relationship, I feel like me and the other players, like Ons [Jabeur], Coco [Gauff], the players that are here, actually like everybody. The players that didn’t qualify for the Finals. We are really united and think the same way.
“The young ones, the older ones, we all know that this isn’t good that we’re gonna have more mandatory tournaments. So we want to really have an impact. Because when it’s gonna happen, it’s gonna stay forever and it’s gonna get worse. Hopefully we’re gonna be able to push.”