Swiatek challenges crazy fixtures overload

Iga Swiatek, the number one in the WTA rankings, advances at the Cincinnati Masters after defeating the tournament’s revelation, Russia’s Mirra Andreyeva , in the quarter-finals. At just 17 years old, Andreyeva forced the Pole to come from behind with the more experienced Swiatek eventually winning in three sets (4-6, 6-3, 7-5).

Too much tennis, says Swiatek

After the match, Swiatek was interviewed on court and answered several questions, including her opinion on the current WTA schedule. “I think we have too many tournaments in the season. It’s not going to end well,” said the 23-year-old, who picked up a bronze medal at the recent Paris Games.

“They are pushing us to play more and more and that makes tennis less fun for us. Obviously I love playing in all of these places, but it’s really exhausting and I think most WTA players will tell you that”.

The US Open still to come

She went on to add: “I think we deserve to rest a little bit more. Maybe people are going to hate me for that or don’t understand me for saying this, because it doesn’t make sense to say that I like to play tennis and that I want to rest, but we really need it…” To finish, the Pole recalled that “the decision is not ours” and that “we will see what happens in the future,” blaming the organisation of the circuit for the overloaded calendar.

Swiatek remains one of the favourites to win the Cincinnati Masters after defending champion Coco Gauff was eliminated in the second round. The 23-year-old will face Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals, with the winner of that game to face the winner of the other semi-final between Spain’s Paula Badosa and American Jessica Pegula.

Cincinnati is the 14th tournament that Iga has taken part in already this year. She won the Qatar Open, Indian Wells, the Madrid Open, Roland Garros and the Italian Open as well as reached the final of the United Cup and picking up a bronze medal in the women’s singles event at the Olympic Games earlier this month.