‘Second Service’ tennis news: Iga Swiatek urges governing bodies to rethink scheduling, Emma Raducanu suffers another early exit
Looking back on the big tennis news in our exclusive ‘Second Service’… Iga Swiatek urged governing bodies to rethink ‘unsafe’ scheduling with Emma Raducanu suffering another early exit, plus more…
To start, Iga Swiatek has slammed the WTA and ITF for their combined scheduling of the tour finals and Billie Jean King Cup so close to one another.
The US Open champion chose to withdraw from the Billie Jean King Cup as a result of its proximity to the WTA Finals.
The WTA Finals will run from 31st October to 7th November in Fort Worth Texas. Immediately after from 8th November, the Billie Jean King Cup Finals kick off across the Atlantic in Glasgow, UK.
“I was thinking it through a lot and discussing it with my team, but I will not be able to play at the Billie Jean King Cup in Glasgow,” Swiatek announced on social media. “It makes me sad. I’m very sorry, because I play for Poland whenever it’s possible and I always give it my best.
In other tennis news, Emma Raducanu is out of the WTA 500 Ostrava Open in the Czech Republic after losing to Daria Kasatkina.
The British number one was unfortunate to draw the French Open semi-finalist in the opening round, losing 7-5, 6-4 to the world number 11. On the other hand the draw was a tough one for Kasatkina too given Raducanu’s ranking of 67th in the world, given she does have a Slam title to her name.
Furthermore, Casper Ruud acknowledged he may have pushed his body too far after exiting in the first round of the Japan Open.
The US Open finalist was seeded first at the ATP 500 event in Tokyo but lost to world number 58 Jaume Munar 6-3, 6-3 in a tired display.
“I might have pushed a little too much and tried to go for too many tournaments and too many matches in a row but I really wanted to come to Asia and play these tournaments,” the world number three said. “Today I wasn’t able to bring my best level but it’s an experience and a situation I will try to learn from.”
To conclude, Carlos Alcaraz has reflected on his opening round loss at the Astana Open as he looks ahead to the end of the ATP season.
The world number one was the top seed at the ATP 500 event in Kazakhstan but lost to former world number seven David Goffin in his first match. He lost in straight sets 7-5, 6-3, a result he has not faced all year after playing 62 matches in a row winning at least one set.
“It was a tough game, David played wonderfully,” Alcaraz said according to Marca after the defeat. “Coming back to the competition is never easy. [Goffin] has already played two games on this court, which is not the easiest to get used to. It is very slow and it has been complicated.
🎾 Free >> Join our legendary newsletter
🎾 Join >> Receive $700/£600 of tennis gear from the Tennishead CLUB
🎾 Social >> Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & YouTube
🎾 Read >> World’s best tennis magazine
🎾 Watch >> How to enjoy ATP/WTA/Slam tennis on TV
🎾 Shop >> Lowest price tennis gear from our trusted partner