Iga Swiatek hits out on WTA match scheduling after 3AM finish “destroys” Elena Rybakina in Montréal

CINCINNATI, Ohio—"Do you really want to start this topic?”

Iga Swiatek was ostensibly at the end of her Media Day press conference at the Western & Southern Open, but the world No. 1 still had plenty to say when asked about the scheduling issues that led Elena Rybakina to feeling “destroyed” at the Omnium Banque Nationale over the weekend.

“For sure, weather is something we can’t really predict, but maybe we should focus more on what is healthy for players because we have to compete every week,” Swiatek explained on Monday. “The tour is so intense with travel and not actually having two days of calm and not working that it would be nice in the future to focus on players, especially next year when there will be more and more mandatory tournaments and longer tournaments.”

Multiple rain delays forced Rybakina to begin her quarterfinal against Daria Kasatkina late on Friday night, and didn’t finish until 3AM the following morning. Had she won her semifinal—postponed from Saturday to Sunday due to further rain delays—she would have had to play two matches in one day as did beaten finalist Liudmila Samsonova, who lost the in 49 minutes to Jessica Pegula.

Rybakina blamed the WTA for the scheduling decisions in no uncertain terms during her post-match press conference.

“I think it's been a little bit unprofessional from the—I cannot say really the tournament because I think that the most important is the WTA here. Leadership a little bit weak for now, but hopefully something is going to change because this year it was many situations which I cannot really understand.”

I think that the most important is the WTA here. Leadership a little bit weak for now, but hopefully something is going to change because this year it was many situations which I cannot really understand. Elena Rybakina

Swiatek echoed Rybakina’s calls for change in Cincinnati, having first raised the issue during the clay-court tournaments in Madrid and Rome, which both became two-week tournaments for the first time in 2023.

“During the clay season, in Rome and Madrid, I played four matches that finished close to or after midnight,” explained the top seed. “I understand that we have to adjust to broadcasters and everything, but I also asked the WTA for some data to see if people are watching matches that start past 10PM. I didn’t get anything, but it would be easier to actually understand that it makes sense to play that late.

A finalist in Madrid, Swiatek traveled to Rome alongside champion Aryna Sabalenka, who admitted fatigue factored into her opening-round exit against Sofia Kenin in Rome.

“Aryna played the first day and she honestly said she was exhausted and couldn’t recover from Madrid and she lost. I requested to play second day but because of my request, I was always scheduled for the second match of the night session. It’s pretty hard to handle it when you have to play in the middle of the night for a couple of weeks.

“And It’s not like we’re finishing and going to sleep after two hours,” she continued. “For me, I’m happy if I go to sleep four hours after I finish. I have almost one hour of treatment, obviously media, I have to stretch after the match, food, and then getting the adrenaline down isn’t easy as well. I wish it could change, that’s all.”

I understand that we have to adjust to broadcasters and everything, but I also asked the WTA for some data to see if people are watching matches that start past 10PM. I didn’t get anything, but it would be easier to actually understand that it makes sense to play that late. Iga Swiatek

Pressed for possible solutions, Swiatek cited Roland Garros’ decision to move the start time of its featured night match from one hour earlier, to 8PM from 9PM.

“What I hear just from the people around me, they’re always watching the first match of a night session and I don’t actually know if they’re staying to watch the second one,” she said, later asking the media, “Do you guys watch these matches? I mean, you have to. That’s a stupid question. But do you like watching these matches? That answers it.”

This would not be the first time Swiatek has attempted to affect change in the game since securing the No. 1 ranking for an as-yet interrupted 72 weeks. Last summer, she ignited debate over the issue of different tennis balls between the men and women’s players at the US Open, advocating that the WTA ought to use the same extra-duty ball as the ATP.

“From what Wilson is pointing out on the can, [the extra-duty balls] are made for hard courts, so it makes more sense. As you could see from Montréal, my result was better than Toronto last year.”

Swiatek will play her first match in Cincinnati against either Danielle Collins or Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.