Iga Swiatek is playing her best tennis in almost a year. She has picked this moment to say the sport’s schedule does not work.
Speaking to reporters in Cincinnati this week, the Pole was blunt about what the tour asks of its players between trophies.
“The calendar is intense. I’ve been talking about it for years… there’s no time to celebrate.”
“If we can’t enjoy what we’ve achieved, it doesn’t make sense to fight for it.”
The timing matters. Swiatek is on an eight-match winning streak. She beat Elena Rybakina 6-2, 6-3 in the Toronto final on 14 August to lift her 26th career title and end a 326-day drought. She then flew to Ohio and beat qualifier Emiliana Arango 6-0, 6-3 in her Cincinnati opener, and on Monday she came from a set down to see off Maria Sakkari 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 in the third round.
Three days between tournaments
The gap between the Toronto trophy and her first ball in Cincinnati was three days. Swiatek said she used the time to do as little as possible.
“It’s not like I was super tired after Toronto. I knew I just needed a little bit of rest. Usually one day before a tournament, I’m already in my match mode. But this time, I wanted to spend every hour possible just chilling.”
Recovery, she said, took priority over reps. She planned a maximum of 90 minutes on court the day before her next match.
Sabalenka said it first, in January
Swiatek is not the first player at the top of the game to name the problem out loud. Aryna Sabalenka, who has been world No. 1 for more than 100 weeks, called the tennis season “insane” at the start of 2026 and accused the WTA of putting its own interests above player welfare.
“The season is definitely insane, and that’s not good for all of us as you see so many players getting injured and also the balls are quite heavy, so it’s a lot of struggle for all of us,” Sabalenka said in January.
“I think they just follow their interests. But they’re not focusing on protecting all of us.”
Twelve days to Flushing Meadows
Swiatek faces Diane Parry of France for a place in the Cincinnati quarter-finals. The US Open main draw begins at Flushing Meadows on 30 August.
Read also: Alonso pulls Delap from Chelsea squad in Como loan standoff
Sources: – [US Open 2026: Dates, Schedule & Full Calendar – Tennis Majors](https://www.tennismajors.com/us-open-news/us-open-2026-dates-schedule-full-calendar-858738.html) – [US Open 2026 Draws | WTA Official](https://www.wtatennis.com/tournaments/905/us-open/2026/draws)Read also: Only eight men have ever done it: Pogačar chases the Grand Tour career Grand Slam at the Vuelta
