World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka and No.2 Iga Swiatek have withdrawn from the WTA 1000 event in Dubai. Neither player cited a specific injury when confirming their withdrawal on Friday, but both are following through on their promises to play a lighter schedule this year, having chosen to skip the Middle East event, which starts on Sunday.
Both players are set to return for the Sunshine Double in Indian Wells and Miami next month. However, their participation is far from certain, with Swiatek admitting last month that she would skip some mandatory 1000 events this year to work on her game.
She said: “Last year I had trouble with making this kind of decision, but this year I’m trying to change my approach. So I think, for sure, we’ll skip some 1000 tournaments.”
The Polish star has been a vocal critic of the WTA’s schedule and number of mandatory events. The six-time Grand Slam champion called the situation “madness” during the China Open last year on a day when five of the 12 matches at the combined men’s and women’s event ended in mid-match retirements.
The 24-year-old said: “Perhaps I’ll have to choose some tournaments and skip them, even if they are mandatory. The WTA has made this a madness with all these mandatory rules.
“It’s impossible to fit everything in the calendar. I don’t think any elite player can manage it.” Meanwhile, Sabalenka stated during her Brisbane International title run in January that maintaining a schedule as light as that of 23-time Slam champion Serena Williams in her prime has become unfeasible.
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The 27-year-old said: “The season is definitely insane, and that’s not good for all of us, as you see so many players getting injured and also the balls are quite heavy. It’s a lot of struggle for all of us,” Sabalenka said in a news conference.
“The rules are quite tricky with mandatory events, but I’m still skipping a couple events to protect my body, because I struggled a lot last season. Even though the results were really consistent, some of the tournaments I had been playing completely sick or I’ve been really exhausted from overplaying.
“This season we will try to manage it a little bit better, even though they are going to fine me by the end of the season. But it’s tricky to do that. You cannot skip a 1000 event. It’s really tricky, and I think that’s insane what they do. I think they just follow their interests, but they’re not focusing on protecting all of us.”