Three-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek has described the decision to schedule only one WTA event this week as an ‘unfortunate situation’ and has called for there to be more variety.
The world’s best women’s players are currently playing at the Qatar Total Open in Doha which only has a capacity of 32 players in its main draw. As a consequence, high-profile names such as Karolina Pliskova had to come through qualifying in order to seal a place in the main draw. There are also no WTA 125 events taking place which means if players who don’t make the cut for Doha want to play their only option is on the lower-level ITF circuit.
Swiatek says she has the luxury of not having to worry about the current situation due to her ranking but has voiced her concerns about others. This month seven WTA tournaments are being held across the world – four WTA 250’s, two WTA 500’s and the most prestigious event being next week’s Dubai Tennis Championships which is categorized as a WTA 1000 (non-mandatory) event. This week is the only one where multiple tournaments are not taking place.
“I don’t know what caused this situation, there were great players who had to go through the qualies and others who didn’t enter directly, it’s a rather unfortunate situation,” Swiatek said following her win over Danielle Collins.
“It would be nice if there was more variety, I’m in a position where I know I’ll be in every tournament, but not all of them have that privilege. I feel sorry for those most affected because they could also be playing this week, earning points and money, but they can’t.’
“It is enough to see how our first round has been to understand the toughness of the draw, each game is very difficult, but I would like there to be more variety, to have another tournament in a different city.”
In comparison, the men’s ATP Tour is staging almost twice as many events as the WTA in February. A total of 12 tournaments will be held across Europe, North America, South America and the Middle East with three being staged each week. Meanwhile, on the Challenger circuit, 12 additional events will also be held.
Another topic constantly raised about the WTA Tour is the amount of consistency there is among players. Although Swiatek quashed some of this criticism with her dominant 2022 season that saw her claim eight Tour titles and at one stage she won 37 matches in a row.
“My goal is to be consistent, it has been from the beginning,” Swiatek states. “I wish I could maintain this high level for a long time, always be in the semifinals and finals. Last season I showed that I can do it. But right now I want to get back to balance, I know I’m not going to win every tournament.’
“Regarding other players, I don’t know if something has changed or not, maybe it’s a coincidence or maybe we have players who are a little more ambitious and stable, it’s hard to judge.”
Swiatek is through to the semi-finals in Doha after Belinda Bencic was forced to pull out of their upcoming match on Thursday due to illness. She is bidding to win the tournament for a second year running which hasn’t been achieved since Victoria Azarenka won the title in 2012 and 2013.