Billie Jean King understands Iga Swiatek skipping Billie Jean King Cup Finals despite not agreeing with it: "She’s the one that’s having to deal with reality now; I don’t"

Iga Swiatek won't play at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals due to the odd scheduling of the event and proximity to the WTA Finals.

The event will basically start one day after the WTA Finals concluded and with many expecting Swiatek to make it all the way, the Polish player wasn't ready to commit to that short turnaround. The legendary player after whom the competition was named spoke on the situation saying:

"I can totally understand her reasoning. I personally wouldn’t agree with it. But you know what? It’s about her. She’s the one that’s having to deal with reality now; I don’t. We’ll miss her.”

Swiatek has spoken to the organisations that are handling these events in order to spearhead an effort to make things better for the players in terms of scheduling. Badosa and Muguruza pulled out of the BJK Cup last year due to the same reason.

King added:

"I would have liked her to wait a little longer (to decide about the BJK Cup Finals), because you never know how you’re going to do. I mean, you just don’t know. And this is where you have to figure out for yourself what’s important to you. For me, this would be a no-brainer.”

WTA Chief Steve Simon also talked about the situation saying that she isn't wrong:

“This is a very tough schedule and a tough turnaround. It’s something that we’re already talking about to see how we can fix that in the future.”