"Iga Swiatek arriving early to help build rest of the stadium" - Pole's Cancun arrival a week ahead of WTA Finals amid unfinished courts amuses fans

Iga Swiatek arrived in Mexico for the WTA finals well before the start of the tournament, amid the controversy surrounding the unfinished court in Cancun.

Despite the whispers about Saudi Arabia playing host to the grand finale of the WTA, it was finally decided that the event would take place in Cancun, Mexico. But with the end-of-year championship on the horizon, a picture of the tennis court in Cancun, still in the works, has started doing the rounds on social media.

The WTA has reportedly invested $6 million into building a new stadium that will accommodate 4,000 spectators, along with a couple of practice fields within the players’ hotel facility. However, the state of the court at the moment has sparked concerns among fans.

The WTA Finals, set to take place from October 29 to November 5, will feature Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina, Jessica Pegula, Ons Jabeur, Marketa Vondrousova, and Karolina Muchova (top eight singles players). The top eight doubles teams will also participate in the event.

Iga Swiatek has apparently arrived in Cancun a week ahead of the WTA Finals, with no word on the status of the court that appeared to be under construction a few days ago. This has elicited hilarious and snarky reactions from tennis fans who turned to X (formerly Twitter) to express their opinion.

One of the fans posted a picture of Iga Swiatek donning a contractor helmet, suggesting that the World No. 2 was lending a hand in constructing the rest of the stadium. The tweet read:

"iga arriving early to help the contractors build the rest of the stadium."

Another account joked about the possibility of Swiatek being deployed to build the stadium.

"Lmao girlie is already in Cancun ummm they will get you to help build the stadium I fear."

Yet another tennis enthusiast commented that it was the first time in the history of the sport that the player had reached the venue before it actually existed.

"for the first time in tennis history the players have arrived before the venue even exists!"

Here are a few more reactions from tennis fans:

Iga Swiatek perceived as a 'tough opponent' by Elena Rybakina

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Russian tennis star Elena Rybakina recently discussed Iga Swiatek on the Tennis Channel's second season of "Warm & Fuzzy" chat show (05:01).

On the WTA circuit, Rybakina has a 3-1 advantage over Iga Swiatek in their head-to-head matchups. The Kazakh has won this year's meetings in Melbourne, Indian Wells and Rome, but the Pole won their first meeting, at the Ostrava Open in 2021.

The current World No. 4 was asked about Swiatek on the show, and she responded by calling her a "tough opponent." Rybakina also praised the 22-year-old's athleticism and consistency in 2023.

"She's [Swiatek] a really tough opponent, I know that every point is going to be difficult just because she's fighting and running a lot. And she's so consistent throughout the year... last year and even now I think it was great results. So, just tough opponent I would say."