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Amid players including Iga Swiatek and Daria Kasatkina voicing their concerns over tight scheduling on the tour, the new WTA regulations on mandatory tournament appearances have added fuel to the fire.
The 2024 WTA Rule Book suggests that players will be committed to participating in a minimum number of tournaments. Players with acceptance into the main draw at six or more WTA 500 tournaments will now have to play at least six of them.
This has opened up the possibility of top-ranked players participating in a minimum of 20 tournaments per season if they are to play every WTA 1000 event and Grand Slam.
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Tennis fans on social media expressed displeasure with the latest updates. One fan blamed the association for 'exploiting' the players.
"Luckily not all 1000s are mandatory and so far Wuhan hasn't been confirmed. Regardless, this is a CRAZY schedule. If you go deep, it's basically impossible to do. WTA wants to exploit them till exhaustion," the fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Another user cited Iga Swiatek as an example to opine that players would have to fake injuries to evade the new regulation.
"It'll be fake injuries all the way. Iga [Swiatek]'s been doing this already w/her "oh no I got a shoulder injury!" And then forgetting all abt it a week later. It's literally the only viable way to cope lmao," the fan's post read.
Here are a few more fan reactions:
Iga Swiatek previously criticized WTA scheduling for 2024: "It's going to have a huge negative impact on our health"
Iga Swiatek criticized the WTA over their scheduling for the 2024 season. In her press conference at the 2023 WTA Finals, the World No. 1 expressed her concern over how mandatory tournaments would trouble players' health and well-being.
"We are not happy with some things, and we want to change the schedule for next year [2024]. We're going to have more mandatory tournaments and it's going to have a huge negative impact on our health and wellbeing," Iga Swiatek said.
Swiatek was critical of the WTA for scheduling tournaments without player consultation. She suggested that the organization maintain proper communication before making such decisions.
"We feel like we're beating our heads against the wall. Everything has already been decided without consulting us. It would be nice if the WTA shared its plans with us before making decisions. It's supposed to be an organisation of women's players, but we have nothing to say," the Pole added.
Iga Swiatek is currently taking part in the 2024 Qatar Open. Following a first-round bye, the top-seeded Pole registered a 6-1, 6-1 over Sorana Cirstea in the second round. She will next face Ekaterina Alexandrova on Wednesday, February 14.
