Sabalenka joins calls for change, says tennis chiefs have to fix ‘crazy’ WTA Tour schedule
World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka says governing bodies have to ‘do something’ about packed calendar after skipping Beijing event through exhaustion
World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka has called the packed tennis schedule “crazy” and said the sport’s governing bodies had to “do something” about it.
Speaking to the Post on the sidelines of the Prudential NextGen Aces event in Hong Kong, Sabalenka is one of several high-profile players to weigh in on the issue in recent months.
Last month, world No 2 Iga Swiatek said the season was too long and too intense, and hinted she may skip some mandatory tournaments in the future, while men’s world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz pulled out of the Shanghai Masters two weeks ago with “physical issues”.
A four-time grand slam winner, Sabalenka admitted she had skipped last month’s China Open in Beijing because she was “exhausted” and last year had to pull out of Wimbledon because of an injury caused by her hectic schedule.
“The scheduling is crazy, it’s really tough to handle,” Sabalenka said. “We definitely have to do something about that because if you play at a high level and if you go far in the tournaments, at some point your body is gonna give up.
“It’s just too much pressure, physical pressure and mental pressure as well.
“At some point, it’s gonna hurt, like, it’s gonna get to you. And last year I suffered from a shoulder injury and I had to pull out from Wimbledon, which has never happened to me before, and I feel like it’s all because of the tight scheduling and not enough time to recover my body.”