Iga Swiatek fired a warning shot to the WTA on Monday, saying that enough is enough when it comes to letting rain-delayed matches run deep into the night – ruining winning player fitness for successive encounters.
The nightmare scenario which came true at the weekend in Montreal and resulted in a one-way, 49-minute final win for Jessica Pegula over an exhausted Liudmila Samsonova, drew fire Monday at the Cincinnati Masters from the WTA No. 1.
“For sure, weather is something we can’t really predict, but maybe we should focus more on what is healthy for players,” top seed Swiatek said.
“We have to compete every week; the Tour is so intense with travel.
“It would be nice in the future to focus on players – especially next (Olympic) year when there will be more and more mandatory tournaments and longer tournaments.”
Swiatek called foul on the treatment of 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, whose Montreal quarter-final against Daria Kasatkina began late on Friday and ended at 3 a.m. on Saturday.
The late night wrecked the Kazakh for a subsequent Saturday semi-final, which she lost 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 to Samsonova – who went down on Sunday in 49 minutes to a refreshed Jessica Pegula .
Added Swiatek: “During the clay season, in Rome and Madrid, I played four matches that finished close to or after midnight.
“I understand 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 10 p.m.
“I didn’t get anything, but it would be easier to actually understand that it makes sense to play that late.”
After her Canadian exit, Rybakina queried as to why the WTA could not sort out the complex scenarios usually brought about by rain interruptions.
“Hopefully something is going to change because this year (there were) many (scheduling) situations which I cannot really understand.”
