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World number one, Iga Swiatek has expressed dejection as she will not get a chance to play for her country, Poland, in next month’s Billie Jean King Cup finals in Glasgow. The reigning US Open champion took this issue with the sport’s governing bodies for the handling of the tournament schedule.
Swiatek will get a chance to compete in the season-ending WTA Finals from 31 October in Fort Worth, Texas, where top-ranked eight players from WTA Finals will compete in a round-robin format. But after the tournament, players have one day to travel from Fort Worth, which is six hours behind Glasgow, to make the Billie Jean King Cup Finals and represent their country.
"I was thinking it through a lot and discussing it with my team, but I will not be able to play at the Billie Jean King Cup in Glasgow," Swiatek announced in a post on Instagram. "It makes me sad. I'm very sorry because I play for Poland whenever it's possible and I always give it my best. Playing in Poland this year [in the qualifiers] was an honour and I hoped to do this again at the end of the season."
"I'm disappointed that tennis governing bodies didn't come to an agreement on something as basic as the calendar of tournaments, giving us only one day to travel through the globe and changing the time zone," Swiatek added.
Swiatek further talked about how situations like these can lead to serious injury and increase the possibility of players getting hurt frequently. She then stated that she will talk to the WTA and ITF to push for some changes. She said, "The situation is not safe for our health and could cause injury. I'm going to talk to the WTA and ITF in order to change something. This situation is difficult not only for the players like me but mainly for the tennis fans that support our sport."