Hey there, fellow tennis enthusiasts It’s your girl Mia Johnson-Carter here, living the dream in Miami. Today, I’m super excited to dive into a fascinating story about the latest in tennis news. We’ve all been following the drama surrounding the WTA calendar, especially with top players like Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina speaking out about its challenges. But what’s the real story? Let’s get into it!
Recently, Garbine Muguruza, the former two-time Grand Slam champion and current WTA Finals tournament director, shared her thoughts on the WTA calendar. In an interview with The National, Muguruza emphasized that there’s no reason for players to complain about the schedule. She believes that top players have the flexibility to make selective choices about which tournaments they participate in, especially given the numerous opportunities available in the sport.
Muguruza, who retired from professional tennis in April 2024, emphasized that she never found the schedule to be an issue during her playing career. She highlighted that players can choose their own pace and prioritize their health and performance by selecting which tournaments they want to participate in.
“I don’t think there’s a reason to complain. I think it’s the opposite. It’s great. You make your own schedule and you know your own capacity. Especially if you’re winning a lot of matches, you’re like, okay, maybe I should relax here, maybe I should go harder here,” Muguruza explained.
However, not all players share Muguruza’s view. Iga Swiatek has been vocal about her dissatisfaction with the current schedule. After competing at Wimbledon and winning bronze at the Paris Olympics, Swiatek skipped Montreal but returned for Cincinnati. In an on-court interview during her quarterfinal win over Mirra Andreeva, Swiatek expressed her exhaustion from changing surfaces multiple times within a month. She criticized the schedule for making tennis less fun and warned that it could lead to more early retirements from the sport.
“I’ve been kind of an advocate saying that [they] shouldn’t be pushing and pushing for us to play more. Obviously it’s not our decision, but for sure I think we have too many tournaments in the season. It’s not going to end well. It makes tennis less fun for us. I love playing in all these places but it’s pretty exhausting and I think most of the WTA players would tell you that, especially when you’re playing at a high level,” Swiatek said.
Elena Rybakina also criticized the WTA schedule, suggesting that more players could start retiring early like Ashleigh Barty. Rybakina felt that the increased number of two-week tournaments like Madrid and Rome was negatively impacting the quality of tennis.
“If you want to see good quality of tennis, if you want to see players play long their career, not finish early maybe as Ash did, I think, in my opinion, it would be nice to change something. Of course public wants to see good tennis, good quality, but for the players, it’s not easy… I mean, of course I’m not here to complain. I’m playing and making good money, but, I mean, I would say that it’s not the best thing when you are kind of without emotions and you’re just like on remote control going to play,” Rybakina said.
Despite these criticisms, Muguruza remains optimistic about the current situation. She believes that the WTA now listens more to players’ concerns and is hopeful for potential changes to improve player well-being.
In summary, while some top players like Swiatek and Rybakina are voicing their dissatisfaction with the WTA calendar, Garbine Muguruza stands by her belief that the schedule offers enough flexibility for players to manage their own schedules effectively. As we continue to follow these developments, it’s clear that the debate over the WTA calendar is far from over.
If you want, you can check out the news where I found it [here](https://www.tennisworldusa.org/tennis/news/WTA_Tennis/149520/garbine-muguruza-shuts-down-iga-swiatek-s-scathing-criticism-of-wta-schedule/).
Yours truly,
Mia
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