We had 4 retirements in Cincinnati yesterday- 2 ATP and 2 WTA. Now I’m sure some of those are just precautionary with the US Open on the horizon, but it’s not great to see so many injuries popping up here. Everyone is exhausted…
"I don't think it's a coincidence": Iga Swiatek has said unusually high retirement count at Cincinnati Open is 'a sign' to look after players better
WTASaturday, 19 August 2023 at 13:30
Iga Swiatek has said that she doesn't think the high retirement count at the Cincinnati Open this week is a coincidence, and instead, it is 'a sign' for the ATP and WTA to 'take it easy' on the players to prevent them from over-exerting themselves.
World No. 1 Swiatek has reached the semi-finals of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, Ohio. She has so far defeated Danielle Collins, Qinwen Zheng and 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, and will face seventh seed Coco Gauff in her bid to make the final of the WTA 1000 event.
This success comes after a disappointing run at the Canadian Open in Montreal last week, where Swiatek went out in the quarter-finals against eventual champion Jessica Pegula. At the time, Swiatek revealed that she was fatigued from the tournament's difficult schedule, which caused several matches to be played late into the night and meant some players had to play two matches on the same day.
Swiatek says schedule is getting 'harder and harder'
Several players' exhaustion has continued into this week's ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 combined event, as there has been an unusually high number of players retiring with injuries. So far, Holger Rune, Elena Rybakina, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Donna Vekic, Mackenzie McDonald, Dusan Lajovic, and Marie Bouzkova have all had to abandon their matches.
Speaking at her post-match press conference on Friday, August 18, Swiatek voiced her concerns about the scheduling, especially regarding the fact that all 1000-level tournaments are set to be extended to two weeks from next year.
"I think it's harder and harder. Tournaments, if they are longer, we have less time in between tournaments to recover. I think it's going to be pretty extreme next year if all the 1000 tournaments are going to be like almost two weeks. So I don't think it's a coincidence. I think it's a sign for WTA and ATP to kind of take it easy on us," she said.
Swiatek hopes fellow players take care of themselves
However, the 22-year-old also admitted that the WTA and ATP need to think about the business side of the matches as well.
"On the other side, there's business that they need to take care of," she continued.
Swiatek went on to add that players also need to take responsibility of their wellbeing and look after themselves properly.
"Our season is actually going to get longer. I guess we are the ones that should be kind of responsible and know when to take a break and not really push because it's a race, and it's a pretty long one. We have to be smart and your team has to be smart to make the right decisions," she added.
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