German star Eva Lys has become one of the most recent voices to express concern regarding the Women’s Tennis Association’s schedule, highlighting higher injury rates, mental and physical exhaustion, and the fact that the tournament stretches over a long period with insufficient time to rest in between.
She concluded her 2025 season with the Hong Kong Open, where she lost in the round of 16 to Canadian star Leylah Fernandez, and had delivered impressive performances throughout the season.
What Did Eva Lys Reflect on the Conditions of WTA Schedules?
The current World No. 40 has now joined the ranks of elite stars Iga Świątek and Coco Gauff in voicing her criticism of the WTA’s lengthy schedule, which is causing numerous issues for players. Through her message, Lys highlighted the myriad of problems the scheduling is currently experiencing.
Through her recent X post, Polish journalist Dominik Senkowski shared, “Eva Lys (40, WTA) criticizes the WTA calendar: ‘We have a ton of injuries, players who just can’t cope, who don’t have the right mental fitness. The tournaments are too long. In tennis, the off-season period is definitely way too short – two weeks for vacation.”
Eva Lys (40. WTA) krytykuje kalendarz WTA: „Mamy mnóstwo kontuzji, zawodniczek, które po prostu nie dają rady, które nie mają odpowiedniej kondycji psychicznej. Rozgrywki są zbyt długie. W tenisie okres poza sezonem jest zdecydowanie za krótki – dwa tygodnie na urlop”
— Dominik Senkowski (@dsenkowski07) December 14, 2025
Apart from Lys, World No. 2, the Polish sensation, who is also one of the advocates to denounce the WTA schedule, which features tournaments throughout the season, had once mentioned, via ESPN, “The scheduling is super intense. It’s too intense. There’s no point for us to play over 20 tournaments in a year. These kind of obligations and the rules about mandatory tournaments just put pressure on us. People would still watch tennis, maybe even more, if we played less tournaments. The quality would be better.”
Świątek highlighted how playing without mandatory rules would create less pressure on the players, allowing them to perform well throughout the year. Another elite player, World No. 3 Coco Gauff, who achieved impressive feats in her 2025 season, including winning the Wuhan Open, French Open, and Canadian Open women’s doubles with her partner, McCartney Kessler, has also previously expressed dissatisfaction with the season.
She had reflected on the season’s stretch, which takes a toll on the body of the players, adding, “With more tournaments now stretched to two weeks, it doesn’t really make sense to keep putting that stress on the body. I’d love to see the tour shorten the season at some point in my career. From a business side, it may make sense, but from a player’s health point of view, I don’t agree.”
Apart from these players, Russian-Australian star Daria Kasatkina, while announcing the conclusion of her season, had also added, among other significant things, “The schedule is too much, mentally and emotionally I am at breaking point and sadly, I am not alone.” She bid adieu to her season with the China Open.
