Iga Swiatek has said that she wouldn't mind playing on Court 2 if it meant matches finished at a reasonable time and gave players proper time to recover. This comes after WTA scheduling issues have persisted at the Cincinnati Open this week.
World No. 1 Swiatek made a good start to her run at the Western & Southern Open in Ohio, defeating Danielle Collins 6-1, 6-0 in her opening round.
Speaking after the win, the Polish player reiterated her support for changes in the current state of match scheduling by the WTA. This comes after a season of late-night games and players having to play two matches on the same day, often due to delays caused by adverse weather conditions.
One option suggested by Swiatek after her match against Collins was to play more matches on Court 2.
"There’s only 1 big stadium normally for tournaments, so they have to manage the schedule. But sometimes it would be healthier to play earlier. I wouldn’t mind playing on Court 2 if I could just have a normal night & normal recovery after the match. 1 match like that is cool, I don’t mind… but four? Your whole sleep routine is getting ruined," she said.
This comes after the 22-year-old supported the likes of Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka at the Cincinnati Open pre-tournament press conference. Both the world No. 2 and No. 4 have voiced their frustration at WTA scheduling decisions made recently.
2022 Wimbledon champion Rybakina was left 'destroyed' by a late-night clash against Daria Kasatkina at the National Bank Canadian Open (Omnium Banque Nationale) in Montreal last week. The quarter-final match was postponed due to bad weather and ended up going on until 3 am, lasting almost 3 and a half hours.
Meanwhile, Swiatek brought up a similar situation that occurred with Sabalenka earlier this year that left both herself and the Belarusian player 'exhasuted.'
"After Madrid, when I played the final against Aryna and we both played Rome, she played on the first day because I requested the second. She lost in the first round.
"She honestly said she was exhausted and was not able to play. I played the next day, and as you could see throughout the tournament, it was not a great choice either because all of my matches were scheduled second, you know, night session."
At the Western & Southern Open, Victoria Azarenka has criticized scheduling yet again, after she 'didn't know' what time she was going to be playing at.
"This is the only sport in the world where you don’t know when you’re going to play. It was 11PM yesterday and I didn’t know when I’m going to play. This is unacceptable in any shape or form," she said after her opening round.
Iga Swiatek says she’d prefer to play on Court 2 if it means she could have a normal night & schedule: “There’s only 1 big stadium normally for tournaments, so they have to manage the schedule. But sometimes it would be healthier to play earlier. I wouldn’t mind playing on Court…
