When Iga Swiatek landed in Cincinnati last season, she was furious over one major situation. The hectic scheduling didn’t allow her to recover properly. “I love playing in all these places, but it’s pretty exhausting, and I think most of the WTA players would tell you that. Especially when you’re playing at a high level and going to high rounds at every tournament.” Her point was simple and straight. “I don’t think it should be like that because we deserve to rest a little bit more. Obviously, maybe people are going to hate me for that.” While the scheduling still remains an issue, Swiatek seems to have managed her campaign well this time in Cincinnati.
Despite extreme heat conditions, the six-time slam queen has steered her way to the business end of the 1000-level event. While some experts believe the tournament has been extra kind to her, others think it’s all about skills on the court. In fact, a top coach has now come forward to Swiatek’s rescue amid ‘unfair’ scheduling concerns. For the uninitiated, Swiatek faced Elena Rybakina in the semis this weekend. After snatching the first set 7-5, she was on her way to the final in the second set. The score read 4-1 (40-40) as Rybakina got ready to serve. It was at this moment that former American player and now commentator, Lindsay Davenport, made some shocking comments over Swiatek’s Cincinnati schedule.
According to Davenport, Swiatek may have received unfair treatment. She mentioned how Rybakina, for example, had her matches “against Mertens and Keys both at night.” But to her surprise, “I don’t believe Swiatek ever played even in the late afternoon, believe she was early every single day to get used to these conditions.” To this, her fellow commentator noted, “11 o’clock on the dock, right? Every day.” Davenport concluded, saying, “That’s when it doesn’t seem totally fair.” But guess what? Rick Macci, the legendary coach who taught 23-time slam queen Serena Williams the nuances of tennis during her childhood, believes Swiatek didn’t receive any special favor.
In fact, he has shut down such speculations. Taking to his X account, on August 18, Macci wrote, “Coaches, players, commentators saying it is unfair because the Punisher was more used to the 90-degree heat because of scheduling. That is a whole different petty level of complaining, just like waiting when it is raining.” He added, “No excuses. Greatness is mentally molded and understands life is not Fair if you ever want to go to rare Air.”
Coaches players commentators saying it is unfair because the Punisher was more used to the 90 degree heat because of scheduling. That is a whole different petty level of complaining just like waiting when it is raining. No excuses. Greatness is mentally molded and understands…
— Rick Macci (@RickMacci) August 18, 2025
But that’s not it. The coach shared another post while defending the former World No.1, “When you keep yapping about Iga and the unfair start time, you should all been trained mentally to deal with problems, haters, and slime. It is what it is. Greatness can flip it in the mind, focus on the competition, reset, and rewind.” Swiatek is currently gearing up to play Jasmine Paolini in the Cincinnati Open final.
For context, Swiatek has played all her matches in the morning, starting at 11:00 AM. However, other players haven’t received such a consistent schedule. A lot of them have tried to adjust to various timings. Not to mention this kind of pattern left many frustrated. Russian WTA star Anna Kalinskaya, who played Swiatek in the QF stage, was one of them. And she didn’t mince words while criticizing the event organizers.
Iga Swiatek’s Cincinnati Open rival, Anna Kalinskaya, lashes out at the organizers
Anna Kalinskaya has been in great form lately and has shown promising results. At the Citi Open last month, she reached the final. Unfortunately, the former World No.11 couldn’t win the trophy against Canada’s Leylah Fernandez. But she carried the momentum in Cincinnati.
Kalinskaya managed to reach the QF before losing out to Swiatek. However, the Russian was left frustrated with her matches taking place at odd timings. This resulted in her being unable to take a proper rest. After her R16 win against Ekaterina Alexandrova, she took to her Instagram while reacting to the timing of her QF face-off against Swiatek. Simply because there was no way for her body to recover properly before such an important clash.
Image Credits: Mubadala Citi DC Open/X Account
“How can the WTA and tournament expect athletes to perform their best when the scheduling is this unfair?” she began. Ranting out her thoughts on the early morning slot for her encounter with Swiatek, she added, “After my match against Alexandrova, I got home from the site at 2:40 am and didn’t go to bed until 4 am. I slept a bit and came to the site to practice. Then I get scheduled at 11 am for tomorrow’s match – how does the tournament and WTA expect me to recover and continuously adjust my sleep pattern, which is one of the most important aspects of recovery? Seems a bit one-sided.”
Do you think Kalinskaya’s criticism is fair? Are the organizers favoring certain players over others? Or is it just a case of incompetence from the organizers? Let us know what you think.
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