Iga Swiatek hints that she is thinking about missing two mandatory tournaments in 2026 simply because she feels it will benefit her well-being and tennis.
Swiatek, who has been one of the faces of women's tennis since 2022, is also one of the harshest critics of the WTA calendar. Over the years, the six-time Grand Slam champion multiple times slammed the calendar as "too demanding" for players. In an interview from late September, the Polish tennis star even threatened to break some rules in the future and deliberately skip some tournaments.
Under the WTA rules, top players are mandated to play all four Grand Slams, 10 WTA 1000 tournaments and six events from the 500-category. Also, the WTA Finals if they clinch a spot.
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Swiatek: I may miss two tournaments in 2026... The ones where I haven't played well anyway
I would like to try missing maybe two tournaments maybe the ones I feel I havent been playing well at anyway just spending this time on grinding and getting the technique better. I think it will help me also play a little bit better under stress, because my body will remember the proper movements and what it learned during this practice time," the world No. 2 told The Guardian.
Mentally, it can give me a lot of confidence, knowing I worked hard. Then I can come to tournaments a little bit better prepared, because for sure, playing all mandatory tournaments now, most players will tell you theyre not always 100% ready to play every one of these.
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In the interview from September that was mentioned above, Swiatek specifically named the Asian swing as "the hardest." That leads to the conclusion that the Pole might look to take some extra time after the US Open in the future.
This year, the 24-year-old appeared in three tournaments during the Asian swing - she won Seoul before losing in the Beijing round-of-16 and having a quarterfinal outing in Wuhan.
Swiatek played a total of 79 matches in 2025 and posted a 62-17 record.
