Iga Swiatek slams WTA over ‘unsafe’ tennis schedule

Iga Świątek has pulled out of the Billie Jean King Cup Finals next month after expressing her concern over the scheduling of upcoming tennis events.

The world number one was set to represent Poland at the tournament but she has announced she will no longer be taking part.

In a statement posted to her Instagram story, Świątek has provided an honest explanation for her decision and has assured fans she will be addressing the matter with the WTA and the ITF.

An extremely tight turnaround following the WTA Finals has left the three-time Grand Slam champion with no choice but to forfeit her place on Team Poland.

“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,” Świątek wrote.

“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] was an honour and I hoped to do this again at the end of the season.”

The BJK Cup Finals are scheduled to take place on November 8th in Scotland, a day after the WTA Finals come to a close in Austin, Texas.

As highlighted by Świątek in her statement, those competing in both tournaments will have just one day to travel from the USA to the UK.

A standard commercial flight requires two stops on the route from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to Glasgow Airport and the journey takes about 15 hours overall.

“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,” Świątek continued.

“The situation is not safe for our health and could cause