Iga Swiatek’s Struggles Spark Ex-Pro’s Outburst on WTA’s Grueling Schedule: “It Ended My Career”

How did Aryna Sabalenka dethrone the Polish superstar, Iga Swiatek? Well, this has been a hot topic of discussion over the last few days. New rules always come out with some surprise. Some may like it or some may not, but the rules will be rules for every player, irrespective of their popularity among the masses! Recently, some fans questioned the rule of points being deducted in the middle of the season for players who haven’t met the 20 tournament requirements. What’s the rule though, and what do tennis experts have to say about this? Recently, former WTA pro, CoCo Vandeweghe, shared her thoughts on scheduling woes involving these new rules.

The role of WTA’s ‘mandatory’ events has time and again come under the spotlight after the controversial ranking shift featuring Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka on Monday. Due to this new rule, Swiatek lost 120 ranking points and as a result, Sabalenka overtook her top spot with 9706 points. What does the new rule say? According to this rule, all the WTA stars are expected to participate in 21 events a season. It includes four major tournaments and then followed by 10 WTA 1000-level events. Apart from these 14 high-level tournaments, top players are expected to play in a further 6 WYA 500-level tournaments. Then, after these 20 tournaments, players are expected to take part in the WTA Finals, if they qualify for this event.

Previously we saw Iga Swiatek complaining about hectic schedules, saying, “I think we have too many tournaments in the season. It’s not going to end well. It makes tennis less fun for us. Obviously, I love playing in all these places, but it’s pretty exhausting.” So, scheduling woes have been a constant issue now in the tennis world. Speaking on the same and new rules set by WTA during the TC Live Podcast, CoCo Vandeweghe said, “I think it’s ridiculous that the WTA is asking all these players to play these many events. I went through this personally. It was different requirements, it was a little bit less. But when you’re Top 10, you’re required to play certain events and if you don’t you’re subjected to a fine.”

She further added, “That ended up creating basically the end of my career because I was forced to play when I was unable to play. And, that’s what we’re seeing with a lot of these women out there is they get out there and it’s not just the same quality that we’re used to.” The 32-year-old American former tennis player took retirement from pro tennis last year. She further stated that this is perhaps not the way things should go in women’s tennis. She highlighted that everyone wants to have the best quality and the best available players at any given time. Vandeweghe claimed, “I think having the 1000 events now, that are two weeks long is killing these players out there week in and week out. And, on top of that, 500s is just too much for all these players.“

CoCo Vanderweghe further stated that it’s very unfortunate that the WTA doesn’t take the players’ councils’ vote, and so they don’t even have a voice in the say of it. Remember, Swiatek’s complaints of tennis players’ mental and physical health concerns being ignored? So, clearly scheduling woes have now become a major issue in the tennis world. After losing her crown to Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek recently announced that she’ll be taking part in the BJK Cup Finals in Malaga in November. However, the tennis world seems to be more interested in speaking about her drop in rankings than her comeback news. Here’s what other experts had to say about this.

Andy Roddick claims that Iga Swiatek will not “rush” to reclaim the top spot in the singles ranking

During a recent episode of the ‘Served with Andy Roddick‘, the former ATP player predicted that Iga Swiatek would be in no particular hurry to reclaim the world number one ranking from Aryna Sabalenka. He said, “I like that she’s (Swiatek) gotten to that point in her career where she’s taking the long view on this. She’s not in a rush to get it back. It’s obviously not a priority for her.”

He highlighted how Sabalenka had a 630-point lead over Swiatek ahead of the Cancun and could have secured the year-end no.1 by reaching the final with two group stage wins. However, Iga Swiatek had the last laugh by winning her first WTA Finals title with an unbeaten 5-0 record.

Andy Roddick feels like, “We’re on the same track.” What do other tennis experts think of the chances of Iga Swiatek reclaiming her top spot? According to the former Russian tennis player, Natalia Vikhlyantseva, the Belarusian has a great chance to end the year as the world number one, but she feels Swiatek, “even though she is already tired of the season, will not give it to her for free.” Do you think Iga Swiatek can reclaim her crown and end the year on the highest note?