In 2022, Iga Swiatek made the difficult decision to withdraw from the Billie Jean King Cup Finals a month before the tournament was scheduled to take place.
Swiatek and her Polish teammates had reached the final stage of the international event after winning their qualifying rounds.
However, the six-time Grand Slam champion decided not to compete, citing safety concerns as the reason.
What were these pressing safety issues?
Swiatek explained, writing an extended summary of her thoughts on social media.
Iga Swiatek said the scheduling of the BJK Cup and WTA Finals was ‘not safe’
The WTA Finals, held in Fortworth, Texas, took place from October 31 to November 8. On the very same day, the first match of the BJK Cup Finals was played in Glasgow, Scotland.
This extremely short turnaround resulted in Iga Swiatek’s withdrawal from the competition, with the Pole claiming the scheduling of the two tournaments was ‘not safe.’
On her Instagram story, Swiatek said: “I was thinking it through a lot and discussing it with my team all over again, but I will not be able to play at the Billie Jean King Cup in Glasgow.
“And it makes me sad. I’m very sorry, because I play for Poland whenever it’s possible and I always give it my best. Playing in Poland this year (in the qualifiers in April) was an honour and I hoped to do this again at the end of the season.
“I’m disappointed that tennis governing bodies didn’t come to an agreement on something as basic as the calendar of tournaments, giving us only one day to travel through the globe and changing the time zone.
“The situation is not safe for our health and could cause injury. I’m going to talk to the WTA and ITF in order to change something. This situation is difficult not only for the players like me, but mainly for the tennis fans that support our sport.”
Shortly after Swiatek’s announcement, ITF President Davis Haggerty told Reuters: “The ITF is sorry that Iga Swiatek is unable to take part… and recognises that the schedule for the two major year-end events presents a challenge for players competing in both events.
“We have been working with the WTA to try to coordinate suitable dates.
“While we were able to confirm the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Glasgow back in June, the WTA Finals venue in Fort Worth, Texas was confirmed during the U.S. Open and restricted in terms of available dates.”
He added: “We are committed to working with the WTA on the 2023 schedule so that we have a better transition between the two competitions.”
Little changed in the following year. In 2023, there was a one-day gap between the two tournaments.
However, in 2024, this gap was expanded to five days.
In April this year, the BJK Cup announced that the final stage of their competition would be moved to September, leaving a one-and-a-half-month ahead of the WTA Finals.
The BJK Cup Finals have already begun, taking place from September 18 to 23, while the WTA Finals are scheduled for November 1 to 8.
Billie Jean King did not agree with Swiatek’s decision.
Tennis legend and pioneer Billie Jean King expressed her thoughts shortly after Swiatek’s withdrawal from the competition.
Speaking on ESPN, she said: “I can totally understand her reasoning.
“I personally wouldn’t agree with it. But you know what? It’s about her. She’s the one that’s having to deal with reality now; I don’t.
“We’ll miss her.”
