New WTA Finals tournament director Garbine Muguruza believes there is absolutely zero reason to complain about the WTA calendar as the former two-time Grand Slam champion claims the top players are in the position to make a selective schedule.
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Over the last few years, some of the biggest critics of the calendar have been the top players, with the harshest probably being none other than Iga Swiatek. On multiple occasions, the Pole used some strong words when addressing the matter as she has made it clear that she feels the season is too long and that the mandatory events are a major issue. In August, the 23-year-old delivered one of her most brutal warnings, telling the WTA it was "not going to end well" for players if they don't change something.
One of the names that also comes to mind is Elena Rybakina, who has also criticized the calendar several times. Earlier this year, she went as far as to say that more players could start pulling an Ashleigh Barty and retire very early from the sport.
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But 31-year-old Muguruza - who played her last tournament in 2023 January before officially announcing retirement in 2024 April - says she never the schedule was an issue and added it wasn't a reason why she walked away from pro tennis.
Personally, would I have stayed longer [in the sport] if it were different? No, I dont think so because I never complained about the tour. It is what it is, we have so many opportunities, you can also make your own schedule. You dont have to be forced to play all the tournaments. Its great to have so many tournaments, so many opportunities for players who are not top 50, not top 10. And after you can make your own schedule," the Spanish former world No. 1 told The National.
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For this season, the WTA increased the number of major tournaments that the top players are mandated to play. But Muguruza insists it is still possible to pick where to play and make it good for yourself.
I dont think theres a reason to complain. I think its the opposite. Its great. You make your own schedule and you know your own capacity. Especially if youre winning a lot of matches, youre like, okay, maybe I should relax here, maybe I should go harder here," the 2017 Wimbledon champion added.
Swiatek's brutal warning from August
After competing at Wimbledon and then winning bronze at the Paris Olympics on the clay courts of Roland Garros in early August, the Pole skipped Montreal but kicked off her North American hard-court swing in Cincinnati. In the Cincinnati quarterfinal on August 17th, the current world No. 2 just barely avoided a shock defeat after coming back from a set down to beat Mirra Andreeva 4-6 6-3 7-5.
Later, Swiatek didn't hide that she was tired after changing three different surfaces in a month and said the schedule was making the game "less fun."
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"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. I don't think it should be like that because we deserve to rest a little bit more. Maybe people are going to hate me [for saying that]," Swiatek said during her on-court interview following a Cincinnati quarterfinal win over Mirra Andreeva.
Rybakina also warned the WTA what could happen unless a change comes
From this year, Madrid and Rome became two-week tournaments. And the 2022 Wimbledon champion didn't think it was a good idea. And in May, the 25-year-old Kazakh suggested that the schedule was negatively impacting the quality of tennis and that more early retirements could come.
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"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 youre just like on remote control going to play," Rybakina said at the time.
Meanwhile, Swiatek said at the WTA Finals that the situation regarding the schedule is still not ideal but that the WTA now listens more to players so she remains hopeful something can be done.
