WTA comes under fire for absurd scheduling of Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka matches at San Diego Open
The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has come under fire for its scheduling of the Iga Swiatek vs Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka vs Donna Vekic matches at the San Diego Open.
The WTA 500 event is currently underway at the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego, California, having returned to the city after a seven-year hiatus. It features seven top-10 players including Swiatek, Gauff and Jessica Pegula, as well as numerous other prominent athletes like Danielle Collins, Bianca Andreescu and Garbine Muguruza.
But the San Diego Open was recently called out for the scheduling of their quarterfinal matches, which are set to take place on Friday. Three of the four Round of 16 matches on Thursday – featuring Swiatek, Gauff and Sabalenka – lasted more than two hours, while Gauff also contested a doubles fixture with partner Pegula after her singles victory.
Tennis journalist Jose Morgado claimed that the WTA had been inconsistent and inconsiderate towards the players with their scheduling of singles and doubles matches.
“Winner of the 11.30am match facing the winner of the 7.30pm match; Also: Sabalenka finished 8.30pm and plays 11.30am the next day against a player who had a day off. Absolutely horrendous scheduling my lord,” he remarked.
Winner of the 11.30am match facing the winner of the 7.30pm match.
Messy. twitter.com/JFredSidhu/sta…
Also: Sabalenka finished 8.30pm and plays 11.30am the next day against a player who had a day off.
Absolutely horrendous scheduling my lord.
The San Diego Open quarterfinals will start at 11:30 am local time, with the clash between Vekic and Sabalenka. This will be followed by an all-American clash between Pegula and Madison Keys.
The evening session is set to begin at 5:30 pm local time, with a much-anticipated rematch of the French Open finals between Swiatek and Gauff. Collins will take on Paula Badosa in the final match of the day for the last spot in the semifinals.
Iga Swiatek to skip Billie Jean King Cup due to crowded scheduling by WTA and ITF
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek, who is currently competing in San Diego, recently declared that she had no choice but to skip the Billie Jean King Cup due to the "unsafe" scheduling of tournaments by WTA and ITF.
Swiatek will soon contest the WTA Finals, which will be held in Fort Worth, Texas from October 31- November 7. She was, therefore, upset that the Billie Jean King Cup was scheduled to take place in Glasgow, Scotland from November 8 – 13.
“I was thinking it through a lot and discussing it with my team all over again, but I will not be able to play at the Billie Jean King Cup in Glasgow. And it makes me sad,” Iga Swiatek wrote on social media.
“I'm disappointed that tennis governing bodies didn't come to an agreement on something as basic as the calendar of tournaments, giving us only one day to travel through the globe and changing the time zone. This situation is not safe for our health and could cause injury," she added.
Iga Swiatek wants to speak to the WTA & ITF about the demands on players after she pulled out of the BJK King Cup.
She says travelling & switching time zones from WTA Finals in Texas to BJK Cup in Glasgow is “not safe for our health and could cause injury.” https://t.co/4glwYvNW5c