Iga Swiatek leads Serena Williams with sensational record highlighting her WTA 1000 excellence
“I don’t think it should be like that because we deserve to rest a little bit more. Maybe people are going to hate me for saying that.
“I’m asking for rest. That doesn’t make sense, but the best players learn how to balance it out wherever the ATP or WTA are pushing. We will see in the future how it works out.”
In a post on X responding to a video of Swiatek’s interview, Kafelnikov took issue with the five-time Grand Slam champion and suggested she is not being forced to play.
The Russian wrote: “Is someone pushing you to play??? All you fricking do is complain!!
“I’ll tell you what you deserve! You deserve to get paid a lot less than you do now!! How about that??”
Ahead of her appearance in Cincinnati, Swiatek had asserted that the relentless tennis calendar was getting worse every year.
“Our calendar is crazy, probably the toughest one in sports,” the 23-year-old said in a press conference.
“There are sports that are really tough because, physically, you might get beat up. But most sports have four months off, sometimes even six.
“Our schedule is crazy, and it’s getting more crazy every year, which is scary. You just have to train wisely.”
Swiatek faced world No 3 Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals in Cincinnati as she aimed to reach the final at the WTA 1000 event for the first time.
