"This is the bigger issue, this should be changed 1st" - Iga Swiatek urges WTA to provide players with more tournament balls to combat constant change
Iga Swiatek booked her spot in the 2024 Indian Wells final on Friday, downing Marta Kostyuk in straight sets in the semifinals. The Pole will now take on Maria Sakkari in the summit clash, hoping to win her second title (first in 2022) at the tournament.
Indian Wells has been a happy hunting ground for the World No. 1, who has reached at least the semifinals in her last three appearances at the WTA 1000 event now. Speaking at her post-match press conference, Swiatek was asked about the constant ball changes on the WTA Tour and how it continues to affect the players.
The issue has been pointed out by many on both the men's and women's tour in the last few months, with Swiatek herself having weighed in on it already in the past. This time around, the four-time Grand Slam champion highlighted another major issue -- the lack of tournament balls for players to practice with beforehand.
The 22-year-old was of the opinion that the number of practice balls provided to professionals is not nearly enough, arguing that it was an even bigger issue that the constant changes.
"For sure, adjusting to the balls, it's the most important thing, and to the surface, it's the most important thing in our sport. The one that is going to adapt quicker is going to play better. We always had Penn balls here, the ones we couldn't really get to practice. I think this is the bigger issue, that we don't get the tournament ball. I mean, I think I got one box," Iga Swiatek said.
"So I don't want to be mean, but usually, overall, when we look at the calendar, usually the balls that you're going to get, there's going to be a limited amount. The pros use, you know, for two-hour practice, I don't know, like six cans at least. You're not going to use these balls again, because you need to play with the new ones," she added.
Iga Swiatek further emphasized that the reason she was bringing up the issue now was because she thought it was easily fixable, as the players could buy them themselves with their own money if the tournaments made it available.
"Sometimes we struggle with having not enough balls, you know, to do, I don't know, the whole preseason with AO balls. I think this is the thing that should be changed first, because it's pretty easy, I think. We can buy it, you know, there's just not enough balls for us to have, the tournament balls (smiling). So not many people are aware that we don't play with the balls that you can see in store," Iga Swiatek said.
As for the balls used on site at Indian Wells, Swiatek did not particularly have any issues with them, stating that she had gotten used to them rather quickly early on.
"Here it was always pretty tricky. The balls were always much different than in other tournaments. But I got used to them... But I don't care. I like the ball," she added.
"I feel much better in this kind of environment rather than big cities" - Iga Swiatek on how she enjoys her time at Indian Wells
Iga Swiatek further spoke at the press conference about how she enjoyed herself at Indian Wells, revealing that she spent most of her time inside the house.
However, the Pole noted that she preferred that kind of quiet environment to bigger cities, as it helped her get enough rest during the course of the tournament.
"Here I wouldn't say I'm going somewhere. It's mostly just me being in the house. There's this one viewing point that you can go to, which is pretty nice in the mountains," Iga Swiatek said.
"But overall, yeah, I feel much better in this kind of environment rather than big cities. I mean, except maybe Paris because I know it pretty well, and I always stay in places, like, closer to parks and everything. But yeah, for sure it helps. I implement that in my rest schedule," she added.