Iga Swiatek has opened up on the current state of the tennis schedule amid mass retirements on the court recently.
The Pole advanced to the last 16 of the China Open on Monday (September 29) due to her opponent Camila Osorio retiring injured from the match after losing the opening set 6-0.
Qinwen Zheng and Lois Boisson also retired from their respective matches in the women's event in Beijing on Monday due to injury, while Lorenzo Musetti and Jakub Mensik had to pull out of the men's event after being unable to operate at full strength in their own outings.
Fans attending the China Open will have been devastated to witness five players call it quits in the middle of matches on one day.
However, it appears the players are in a challenging situation when it comes to the scheduling of events.
Players competing on the WTA Tour are obligated to enter all four Grand Slams, all 10 Masters 1000 events and six 500-level tournaments every year.
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Swiatek addresses difficulty of current schedule
After defeating Osorio in Beijing, Swiatek spoke honestly on the current schedule which players on the WTA Tour must adhere to and she did not hold back with her comments.
"With all these mandatory rules, they (WTA) made this pretty crazy for us. I don’t think any top player will actually be able to achieve this," the 24-year-old admitted.
"For example, playing the six 500 tournaments. It’s just impossible to squeeze it in the schedule."
The six-time Grand Slam champion suggested that the recent injury-related withdrawals at the China Open are a result of the congested schedule for tennis players.
"People are more fatigued. There are a lot of injuries. I think it is because the season is too long and too intense," she explained.
"I’m sorry for Camila (Osorio) because she’s always giving 100%. She told me she got injured at the beginning of the match. It’s always sad to see that because we want to just compete," Swiatek added.
The world no. 2 then suggested the drastic measures she may have to take in order to preserve her own health in the future.
"I don’t know yet how my career is going to look like in a couple years. Maybe I will have to choose some tournaments and skip them, even though they are mandatory."
Should Swiatek follow up on her new claim in the future, the WTA may have to eventually act and make notable changes to its current mandatory requirements for players every year.
Swiatek will be back in action on Tuesday (September 30) against Emma Navarro in the Chinese capital for a spot in the quarter-finals.
Navarro secured her spot in the last 16 after Boisson retired early in the second set of their encounter on Monday.
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