“1 month vacation because of so called doping ban, you are not the one to complain”- Fans reject Iga Swiatek's WTA calendar criticism after Dubai loss

Tennis fans have criticized Iga Swiatek for attributing her loss at the 2025 Dubai Tennis Championships to the WTA calendar. Swiatek's best performance at the tournament was in 2023 when she finished as the runner-up, falling to Barbora Krejcikova in the final.

This year, Swiatek was seeded second at the WTA 1000 hardcourt event in Dubai and she kicked off her campaign in the second round following a first-round bye. The former World No.1 secured a convincing 6-0, 6-2 victory over Victoria Azarenka in her opening match before beating Dayana Yastremska 7-5, 6-0 in the third round. However, her run ended in the quarterfinals with a 3-6, 3-6 defeat to Mirra Andreeva.

Speaking about her loss to Andreeva, Iga Swiatek pointed fingers at the demanding WTA calendar. She claimed that the packed schedule makes it challenging for players to perform at their best year after year.

“I'm not surprised. For sure it's a calendar thing. Like, we're not going to be able to be consistent for many years playing week by week. But I feel like for sure the calendar is not helping,” Iga Swiatek said [as quoted by Tennis.com].

Iga Swiatek stated that she blamed her loss to Andreeva on the lack of time and practice she had because of the long WTA schedule they have to follow.

“We need to switch continents, we need to switch surfaces, we need to switch the balls. Yeah, it's not easy . 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,” Iga Swiatek added.

Iga Swiatek's comments drew various reactions from tennis fans, who took to social media to express their disapproval and also voiced their opinions

One fan boldly stated that instead of complaining about the tennis calendar, Swiatek should "quit tennis" if she is not enjoying playing it anymore. The fan added that the Pole should not be complaining about the schedule after she had a one-month "vacation" due to her doping ban.

“Quit tennis if you don’t enjoy playing anymore. You had a one month vacation because you were serving a so called doping ban. You are not the one to complain,” a fan posted.

Another fan questioned Swiatek's rationale for blaming her quarterfinal defeat on the WTA calendar so early in the year.

“What does she mean? The year just started,” a fan wrote.

“I hope she did not blame packed schedule on her loss. It took her 3 sets to beat Mirra at Cincy. I think Mirra would want to play Iga every week if she could avoid Aryna for the rest of her career,” a fan posted.

“Lol omg so packed, just played her 3rd event. Generation of whiners!” a fan wrote.

Here are some other fan reactions:

“Always has an excuse. They’re all playing the same schedule. Not everyone gets a first round bye though,” a fan posted.

“Sounds like a burn-out, Iga,” a fan wrote.

“Imagine complaining about the schedule right after a month-long break! I guess it would look bad complaining about the real issue: not being able to use her preferred brand of trimetazidine— oops, I mean melatonin,” a fan posted.

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Iga Swiatek is next expected to compete at the BNP Paribas Open 2025 at Indian Wells

Iga Swiatek at the 2024 BNP Paribas Open [Image Source: Getty Images]

Iga Swiatek is next expected to compete at the 2025 BNP Paribas Open, scheduled from March 2 to March 16, 2025, and the matches will be played on the outdoor hardcourts at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. She will be defending her title after winning it last year by defeating Maria Sakkari in the final

In 2024, Swiatek was the top seed at the WTA 1000 hardcourt tournament. She defeated Danielle Collins 6-3, 6-0 in her opening match before overcoming 26th-seed Linda Noskova 6-4, 6-0 in the third round.

The five-time Grand Slam champion triumphed over Yulia Putintseva 6-1, 6-2 in the fourth round. She secured her place in the final after defeating Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 1-0 retd. and 31st seed Marta Kostyuk 6-2, 6-1 in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively.

In the championship match, Iga Swiatek defeated ninth seed Maria Sakkari 6–4, 6–0 to win the 2024 BNP Paribas Open, her second title at Indian Wells, her eighth WTA 1000, and her 19th career WTA Tour title.

Iga Swiatek claimed her first Indian Wells title in 2022 by defeating Anhelina Kalinina, Clara Tauson, Angelique Kerber, Madison Keys, Simona Halep, and Sakkari.