Former two-time Grand Slam champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov didn't have much empathy for Iga Swiatek's comments about the tennis schedule, ripping the Pole as "a complainer" and adding that she "deserves to get paid less."
On Saturday, Swiatek survived a thriller in the Cincinnati quarterfinal after outlasting 17-year-old rising star Mirra Andreeva 4-6 6-3 7-5 in two and a half hours of play.
For Swiatek, Cincinnati is her 13th tournament of the year and the Andreeva clash was the 61st time that she took to the court in 2024. And after a hard-fought win over Andreeva, the 23-year-old Pole lamented that "too many tournaments are not making it fun" for players. Also, the five-time Grand Slam champion directly warned the WTA by telling the association that all of this is "not going to end well" unless someone starts addressing it.
"So what can I say I've been kind of an advocate, saying that well, we shouldn't be pushing and pushing for us to play more. Obviously, it's not our decision, but for sure, I think we have too many tournaments in the season. It's not gonna end well as it's just it makes tennis less fun for us. Let's just say, I mean, obviously, I love playing all these places but it's pretty exhausting," Swiatek told Sky Sports.
"I think most of the players…
