Iga Świątek wrapped up another tough season as the WTA Tour’s busiest player. However, even after finishing in the top two for the past four years, she seems to have reached a moment of reflection. Świątek is now thinking about adjusting her own tournament calendar for 2026, amid the ongoing debates about the demanding WTA schedule.
Iga Świątek Plans to Skip Some Tournaments in 2026
Probably for the first time in her career, Świątek is openly thinking about skipping a few tournaments in 2026. She admits the current pace is getting too tough to maintain and wants to protect her longevity and stay at her best, and cutting back on her schedule might be the only way to do that.
During a recent interview at her sponsor On’s headquarters in Zurich, the Polish star said, “I would like to try missing maybe two tournaments – maybe the ones I feel I haven’t been playing well at anyway – just spending this time on grinding and getting the technique better.”
“I think it will help me also play a little bit better under stress, because my body will remember the proper movements and what it learned during this practice time,” Świątek added.
She also pointed out that players are hardly ever fully ready for every mandatory event. “Mentally, it can give me a lot of confidence, knowing I worked hard. Then I can come to tournaments a little bit better prepared, because for sure, playing all mandatory tournaments now, most players will tell you they’re not always 100% ready to play every one of these,” she said.
Świątek’s Growing Criticism of the WTA Schedule and Coach’s Stance
Świątek has been calling out how demanding the tour can be, especially during weeks where events are packed too closely together or when players have to switch surfaces with almost no time to adjust.
She also believes that the responsibility shouldn’t fall on players entirely. It’s up to the governing bodies to make real structural changes. During her post-match press conference at the 2025 China Open, she said, “Most of the people managing the WTA realize that the plan has gone a bit awry. The timeline is excessive. However, this is a business, meaning contracts and licenses, and you can’t just undo it,” (translated from Polish).
She even talked about skipping mandatory events in the future to protect her health. “I won’t be looking next year at which tournaments are mandatory and which ones I could get fined for. I’ll arrange my schedule the way I think it should be. We’ll see if I’ll be mentally okay with skipping tournaments while the other girls are playing,” she said.
However, her coach, Wim Fissette, feels that the World No. 2 loves chasing rankings, like many other top WTA players. This makes it tough for Świątek to skip tournaments. “Iga is a ranking player, so I don’t see it happening,” Fissette said during a conversation with Ben Rothenberg.
Moreover, in his recent interview with Sport.pl, Fissette affirms that there won’t be any drastic change in Świątek’s schedule in 2026. “Five or six would be a lot. I think even skipping one tournament can sometimes make a difference. We’ll see what happens, depending on Iga’s results and how she feels. But it won’t be a drastic schedule change,” the coach said.
Fissette believes that skipping one or two tournaments could help Świątek manage her health better while still staying on track with her ranking goals.