Iga Swiatek refused to speak further about the WTA calendar following her shock Beijing loss as the world No. 2 bluntly stated that everyone perfectly knows what's her position on the matter.
After Camila Osorio retired from their Beijing third-round match after only one set played, Swiatek was asked to address a stunning total of five retirements that occurred at the China Open on Monday. And when answering the question, the reigning Wimbledon champion ripped into the WTA's mandatory tournament rules - and not only that - but she also openly warned the WTA authorities she might start "breaking" some rules.
Two days later, Swiatek exited Beijing in the round-of-16 following a 4-6 6-4 0-6 loss to Navarro. In the press room, the reporters wanted to know whether the long calendar played a role in her surprise China Open loss.
ADVERTISEMENT
Swiatek: I've been talking about the calendar for a long time and there's no point in repeating it
It's obvious the season is long and intense, so I don't have any further thoughts because I've been talking about this topic for a long time, so I don't think there's any point in repeating it now. I have nothing new to add on this matter; enough with what I've said before. Sorry, that's it," the 24-year-old said.
Top WTA stars are mandated to play all WTA 1000 tournaments, six WTA 500 events, all four Grand Slams, and the WTA Finals if they clinch a spot.
"The WTA with all these mandatory rules, they made this pretty crazy for us. I don't think any top player will actually be able to achieve this, for example, playing the six 500 tournaments. It's just impossible to squeeze it in the schedule... I think we have to be smart about it, not really unfortunately care about the rules and just think what's healthy for us," Swiatek said on Monday in her Beijing press.
