Playing or paying?: the toll of non-stop tennis on Iga Swiatek

World number one Iga Swiatek has once again criticised the tennis calendar. The 23-year-old is already regarded as the best player currently playing in women’s tennis and has won as many as four Grand Slam titles.

Swiatek is currently taking part in the Cincinnati Open, where she booked her place in the semifinal after beating Russia’s young tennis sensation Mirra Andreeva with a score of 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. Talking after the match, the Polish tennis star once again criticised the tennis calendar. She was of the opinion that playing continuous tennis is making it less fun for the players who are not enjoying the sport as much as they should. She also stated that while she would love to play every competition, it becomes ‘pretty exhausting’ for players.

"So what can I say I've been kind of an advocate, saying that well, we shouldn't be pushing and pushing for us to play more,” she said while talking to Sky Sports. “Obviously, it's not our decision, but for sure, I think we have too many tournaments in the season. It's not gonna end well as it's just it makes tennis less fun for us. Let's just say, I mean, obviously, I love playing all these places but it's pretty exhausting.”

In the semifinal, Swiatek will go up against Belarus Aryna Sabalenka. The world number three booked her spot in the last four after beating Liudmila Samsonova in the quarterfinal in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-2. It will be the 12th meeting between the two in professional tennis. In the previous 11 meetings, it was Swiatek who clearly had an edge who won on eight occasions and suffered three defeats. Their most recent meeting was in the final of the Rome Masters, where the Warsaw-born star came out on top in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-3.