Iga Swiatek ‘deserves to get paid a lot less’ claims former No.1
Iga Swiatek has been criticised by two-time Grand Slam champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov, after she claimed that there are ‘too many tournaments in the season’.
Swiatek battled to a three set victory over 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva, 4-6 6-3 7-5, to reach the Cincinnati Open semi-finals for a second consecutive year.
After the match, the World No.1 spoke to Sky Sports and revealed her frustrations at scheduling on the WTA Tour, “What can I say? I’ve been kind of an advocate in saying that we shouldn’t, I don’t know… be pushing and pushing for us to play more.”
She continued, “Obviously it is not our decision, but for sure I think we have too many tournaments in the season. It makes tennis less fun for us. Obviously I love playing in all these places, but it’s pretty exhausting. I don’t think it should be like that because we deserve to rest a little bit more. Maybe people are going to hate me for that.”
Swiatek was met with lots of support following this, but former No.1 Kafelnikov was not so generous towards the Pole and suggested that she deserves to get paid less.
“Is someone pushing you to play ??? All you fricking do is complain!!” the 50-year-old said on social media. “I’ll tell you what you deserve ! You deserve to get paid a lot less than you do now!! How about that??”
is someone pushing you to play ??? All you fricking do is complain!! I’ll tell you what you deserve ! You deserve to get paid a lot less than you do now!! How about that??✌️😉 https://t.co/Oc4GBS0ll4
— Kafelnikov Yevgeny (@KYevgeni) August 17, 2024
Swiatek has played 60 matches across 14 events this year, winning five titles and a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics.
Despite Kafelnikov criticising Swiatek, 18-time singles Grand Slam champion Chris Evert was more supportive of her, “I certainly can understand @iga_swiatek concern about playing too many tournaments, especially when you go deep in tournaments every week. Adding in the @Olympics and much more depth in the game, it’s an important topic…”
I certainly can understand @iga_swiatek concern about playing too many tournaments, especially when you go deep in tournaments every week. Adding in the @Olympics and much more depth in the game, it’s an important topic…. https://t.co/vdPnmy2tbq
— Chris Evert (@ChrissieEvert) August 18, 2024
Swiatek will look to reach her fifth final of the season later today, when she plays rival Aryna Sabalenka in the Cincinnati semi-finals.
Inside the baseline…
Scheduling has been a big topic of conversation in recent years, with it seeming like players have been suffering more injuries and fatigue, both physically and mentally. This is particularly prevalent this year, with the Paris Olympics adding to a busy schedule between Wimbledon and the US Open. Iga Swiatek is an extreme version of this, as she is usually in the latter stages of most tournaments and her frustrations are very much understandable, despite whatever Yevgeny Kafelnikov has to say on the matter.
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