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Lars Hamer

World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka has called the packed tennis schedule “crazy” and said the sport’s governing bodies had to “do something” about it.
Speaking to the Post on the sidelines of the Prudential NextGen Aces event in Hong Kong, Sabalenka is one of several high-profile players to weigh in on the issue in recent months.
Last month, world No 2 Iga Swiatek said the season was too long and too intense, and hinted she may skip some mandatory tournaments in the future, while men’s world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz pulled out of the Shanghai Masters two weeks ago with “physical issues”.
A four-time grand slam winner, Sabalenka admitted she had skipped last month’s China Open in Beijing because she was “exhausted” and last year had to pull out of Wimbledon because of an injury caused by her hectic schedule.
“The scheduling is crazy, it’s really tough to handle,” Sabalenka said. “We definitely have to do something about that because if you play at a high level and if you go far in the tournaments, at some point your body is gonna give up.
“It’s just too much pressure, physical pressure and mental pressure as well.
“At some point, it’s gonna hurt, like, it’s gonna get to you. And last year I suffered from a shoulder injury and I had to pull out from Wimbledon, which has never happened to me before, and I feel like it’s all because of the tight scheduling and not enough time to recover my body.”

Sabalenka will end the season as world No 1 after reaching the semi-finals of the Wuhan Open last week, a position the 27-year-old has held since October 2024. But she said that to do so, some tournaments had to be sacrificed.
“You’ve got to do those little breaks and you have to sacrifice something, and sometimes you have to skip the tournaments for your better will, of course, for your health and to recover,” Sabalenka said during the interview at the Regent Hong Kong hotel.
“It’s a very tricky schedule, and unfortunately, I had to skip Beijing and some of the tournaments I wasn’t playing. I couldn’t play at my high level because I was just so exhausted.
“We definitely have to figure out the scheduling because it’s too much on our bodies.
“It’s actually crazy that people think that athletes can handle anything, and you can just throw that crazy schedule on them, and they’re gonna handle it.”
In August, Anna Kalinskaya – who will play in the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open this month – took to social media to slam the WTA schedule as “unfair” and said athletes were unable to perform at their best because of it.
Players are forced to compete in all four grand slams, 10 WTA 1000 tournaments and six WTA 500 events, with punishments for missing them ranging from ranking point penalties to fines.
“It’s very busy, and a lot of travelling,” Kalinskaya said. “But I think once you’re top 20, you can plan a little bit better.
“But for the players who are top 100, it’s very intense. But I don’t know how WTA can change that, because I feel like it’s always been like this.”


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Sport

Tennis

Hong Kong

World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka says governing bodies have to ‘do something’ about packed calendar after skipping Beijing event through exhaustion


World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka says governing bodies have to ‘do something’ about packed calendar after skipping Beijing event through exhaustion.


Sabalenka joins calls for change, says tennis chiefs have to fix ‘crazy’ WTA Tour schedule

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka says governing bodies have to ‘do something’ about packed calendar after skipping Beijing event through exhaustion

World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka says governing bodies have to ‘do something’ about packed calendar after skipping Beijing event through exhaustion