Iga Swiatek blames WTA schedule for Middle East Swing struggles

Iga Swiatek explains why top-ranked players are getting upset in the Middle East Swing.

Iga Swiatek shows frustration during the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. / IMAGO / Hasenkopf

The Middle East Swing of the WTA schedule has given fans plenty of highlights and exciting upsets. Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, and Coco Gauff have all suffered early exits from Masters 1000 events in Doha and Dubai.

While World No. 2 Swiatek has fared better than Sabalenka and Gauff, she is still frustrated with her performances.

After losing to Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Swiatek was in rare form.

First, she left her coach, Wim Fissette, hanging when he reached out for a handshake. After that, Swiatek discussed at length the reasons why the top-ranked players are struggling: the WTA schedule and more talent in the field.

👀 pic.twitter.com/uHwt3e2Q3Y

— Madziol (@madziol127) February 20, 2025

Swiatek said of the back-to-back Masters tournaments, "For sure, it's a calendar thing. We're not going to be able to be consistent for many years playing week-by-week."

This is not the first time Swiatek has offered a grim warning about players' longevity. Oddly enough, after beating Andreeva in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Cincinnati Open, Swiatek issued a similar statement.

However, Swiatek did credit her peers, "Also it's not like some time ago that outside of top-20 players, they were just getting destroyed more. Now anybody can win these tournaments. It is like that since a couple of years."

The Polish superstar then veered back to her original point, "But I feel like the calendar is not helping. Again, we need to switch continents, we need to switch surfaces, we need to switch the balls - it's not easy, I'm not surprised."

MESMERIZING MIRRA! ✨

The 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva upsets World No. 2 Swiatek 6-3, 6-3 to reach her FIRST WTA 1000 semifinal!#DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/BfcHDiPD8k

— wta (@WTA) February 20, 2025

Swiatek advanced to the semifinals of the 2025 Australian Open, which gave her less time to prepare for the Middle East Swing.

Swiatek explained, "I had the same kind of mindset as like every year... But the preparation for sure was different. Before, I lost in Australia early, so I had time to do some stuff. This year, I didn't."

"Honestly, I'm not that direct usually, but I would blame this performance on the lack of practice before because I didn't have time," said Swiatek.

"I'm not happy with the results. I feel like I underperformed. I need to talk with my team a bit and plan the next weeks a bit differently because I haven't had much time to practice before these tournaments," concluded Swiatek.

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