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Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek believes the tennis season is "too long and too intense" and will consider breaking WTA Tour rules and skipping mandatory events next year.
Swiatek is currently competing at the China Open in Beijing, and she reached the last 16 of the WTA 1000 tournament on Monday (September 29.
However, the world number two's victory over Camila Osorio did not come in the way she would have envisaged, with her opponent retiring with an abdominal injury after Swiatek took the first set 6-0.
Swiatek won the Beijing title in 2023 then withdrew from the 2024 edition, and she is the first woman to win her first eight matches at the event since its 2004 inception.
However, in her post-match press conference, Swiatek focused on the state
of the tennis calendar and said players' concerns were no longer being put first.
In addition to Osorio, Zheng Qinwen and Lois Boisson also retired on Monday in China, as did Lorenzo Musetti and Jakub Mensik in the men's singles. One day earlier, both Barbora Krejcikova and Paula Badosa withdrew from the tournament hurt.
Last year, the WTA made it mandatory for top players to feature at all four grand slams, 10 WTA 1000-level events and at least six WTA 500 competitions.
"We have to be smart about it," Swiatek said. "Unfortunately, we have to not really care about the rules and just think about what is healthy for us.
"It's just impossible to squeeze it in the schedule. Maybe I will have to choose some tournaments and skip them, even though they are mandatory. "
Swiatek has played 70 matches in 2025, winning 57 and losing 13 while reaching at least the last eight at all four majors and claiming her first Wimbledon crown in July. She played 73 matches in 2024, 80 in 2023 and 76 in 2022.
"I don't know yet how my career is going to look in a couple of years," Swiatek continued.
"The only thing I can do now, when I decided I'm going to play all these mandatory tournaments, is to just take care of my body, take care of the recovery.
"The Asian swing is the hardest part because you feel like the season is going to finish soon, but you still need to push. There are a lot of injuries. It is because the season is too long and too intense. "
Swiatek will take on Emma Navarro next at the China Open for a place in the quarter-finals.
