Dubai Tennis Championships tournament director, Salah Tahlak, criticised Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka when they withdrew from this year’s event.
Furious with Swiatek and Sabalenka after they withdrew at the last minute, Tahlak called for harsher punishments.
“I think there should be a harsher punishment on the players [for withdrawing], not just fines; they should be docked ranking points. I feel they should deduct points from the players. A monetary fine won’t help,” he said.
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Reminded of Tahlak’s comments during her pre-tournament press conference at Roland Garros, Swiatek issued a firm response.
Iga Swiatek labels Dubai tournament director’s comments as ‘a bit ridiculous’
“I didn’t [hear], I heard about the complaints but I didn’t hear about the penalty [proposal],” said Swiatek.
“Probably because it’s a bit ridiculous!
“We have a right to withdraw any time we want, so I don’t see the problem.
“If we are not fit, or we do not feel like it’s the right time for us to play a tournament… Are we slaves?
“We are allowed to decide, so I don’t see the problem. We get a zero in the ranking, so that’s a punishment.”
That wasn’t the only off-court drama Swiatek was asked about, as the Pole commented on the 15-minute media protest at the French Open.
“Yeah, I’m also doing 15 minutes,” said Swiatek.
“I’m following the structure, and sorry, do you want to waste time on this question?
“I feel like all of us, we don’t have anything against the media, and we totally respect you guys, and we know how our relationship is important.
“But with the tournament, I feel like we will do more when the tournament will do more for us.
“Not only us, the top players, because we have the most contact with you guys, but also for the lower-ranked players and the whole structure.
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“Personally, it’s nothing against you guys, but it’s the decision that we made, and we will follow it.”
She was later asked how far the players would be willing to go in a push for change.
“That’s an interesting question,” said Swiatek.
“I guess for me, it’s hard to know what’s going to happen. I think we will kind of follow what we decide on. But also, there are many factors, and it also depends on how the tournaments react.
“I can’t really say we will do this or that, because we need to see what the reaction will be.
“I don’t think doing something that is not constructive will make sense, but we want to push a bit more to get what we need and to get the tournaments being more open towards the conversations that we need to have.”
Unlike other WTA players, including Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff, Swiatek didn’t seem fond of the boycott plan when it was first proposed during the Italian Open.
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Iga Swiatek delivers her verdict on the conditions at the French Open
Swiatek is looking forward to the French Open, an event she’s won four times.
- 2020
- 2022
- 2023
- 2024
“I’m really happy to be back here, the preparations, honestly, as before any other tournament, we were just practising in, you know, a solid way, and getting time for recovery as well,” she said.
“But for sure, the conditions changed today, so from now on, I feel like the practices will be more different from two days ago, and it’s important to get the feeling of the court right now with the heat.”
The world number three explained how she feels different heading into the 2026 French Open, compared to last year.
“Last year, my tournament in Rome, I felt terrible on the court. For sure, this year, after a couple of good matches, there is more of a positive vibe, and it’s good to have some really solid matches, and to start the tournament with that, it’s a bit different,” said Swiatek.
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“Every year, I say that every tournament is different, no matter if I won Rome, if I lost in the second round, we still have time to refresh, reset, and start the tournament from a totally different perspective.
“So, I think I will take good experience from Rome, and positive feedback also after the matches, I had the chance to play under pressure, and I had the chance to play short matches. I get the vibe of the matches, the rhythm, which is great compared to last year.
“But this is still a totally different tournament with different conditions, especially with the heat. So you need to be humble and start knowing that you need to fight for every match.”
Swiatek will play her first-round match against Emerson Jones on Monday, May 25.
