"I don't know that I can deal in being shortsighted": Andy Roddick bluntly says Iga Swiatek not making WTA Finals doesn't matter in reality

Tuesday, 20 October 2026 at 15:30

Andy Roddick has said that in the grand scheme of things Iga Swiatek not making it to the WTA Finals isn't as huge a deal as being made out. Swiatek has had to withdraw from this week's Ningbo Open, which all but stops her hopes of playing in the season-ending finals.

As a player who has been at the top of the sport for so long, this is perhaps a huge shock, but given the injury she suffered in Wuhan, which, in her own words, she played through to give Chwalinska a fair and square win, it is perhaps in Roddick's view short-sighted to focus on it.

Roddick said that Swiatek should be prioritising her health over the year-end tournament. Swiatek has not claimed a Grand Slam title since winning Wimbledon back in 2025, and it is the first year since 2019 that she hasn't won a major, which is very much a showcase of her current form.

But she has shown positive signs in recent months with Francisco Roig, which included victory at the Canadian Open. She will now look forward to the Australian Open, and for Roddick, her resume cannot be called into question just because of her not qualifying for Indian Wells.

Iga Swiatek should not be short sighted.

“She has as many slams as Edberg, Becker, Sharapova, and Clijsters, like she is already great and will forever live as an all-time great,” said Roddick on Served.

“If there’s a leg injury and there is enough mental stress to cry your way through a loss in Wuhan, I don’t know that I give a s— about making the world tour finals if I’m Iga and if I’m on her team. I don’t know that I can deal with being shortsighted.

Micro focus over honing in on what if

Roddick continued that, given what she has done in her career, it is very much the case that it is now about gearing up for next year instead of dealing with what-ifs when it comes to her 2026.

“Like at a certain point in our careers, our strengths, which for Iga is like she goes and takes her lunch pail in her hard hat to work every single day, and she cares so much every single day more than I mean, she is so like kind of micro-focused on every single day.

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“It’s served her well up until this point, and at some point there has to be a breath. If you go and play on a leg that wasn’t feeling well two days earlier in the kind of say-the-dead times of the year, but if you’re a six-time slam winner, it's the most unimportant part of the year.

“If you’re a six-time slam winner, you deal in wins and losses and slams and number one rankings. Your focus and your priority is not 'Am I ranked 10?' or 'Am I ranked eight? ' It's getting ready so that you can ramp up and try to win a slam next year.”

Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief

Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.

Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.

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