"Probably the toughest one in sports": Iga Swiatek voices concern over 'crazy' tennis schedule ahead of Cincinnati Open

World number one Iga Swiatek has once again raised a voice about the tough schedule that is impacting players. The 23-year-old is regarded as the best player currently playing in women’s tennis in the singles category. She has recently taken part in the Paris Olympics, where she won the bronze medal after beating Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-1.

Swiatek is set to take part in the Cincinnati Open where she will begin her campaign on Wednesday. Talking ahead of the mega-event, the Warsaw-born star once again raised voice about the tough schedule in tennis which according to her is the ‘toughest one’ in sports. She also went on to highlight that the schedule is actually getting ‘crazier’ with every year.

“Our calendar is crazy, probably the toughest one in sports,” she said. “There are sports that are really tough because, physically, you might get beat up. But most sports have four months off, sometimes even six. Our schedule is crazy, and it’s getting more crazy every year, which is scary. You just have to train wisely.”

Talking about her objectives coming into the mega-event, Swiatek admitted that the tournament will not be ‘easy’ and that she is taking the competition as a perfect opportunity to prepare for the fourth and final Grand Slam of the year. “The first tournament on a hard court isn’t going to be easy,” she said. “I’m going to try to treat it as a practice tournament — not in a way that I don’t care, but more in a way that I can implement all the stuff I’ve practiced. I think that’s the best approach for me.”

This year, America’s Coco Gauff will defend her title in Cincinnati. She lifted the title last year after beating Czech Republic’s Karolina Muchova in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-4. Last year, Swiatek had an impressive competition where she was eventually knocked out after losing to Gauff in the semifinal with a score of 7-6, 3-6, 6-4.