Iga Swiatek goes against rivals in WTA row as rule change causes controversy

Iga Swiatek has gone against the grain following a row over the reintroduction of performance byes on the WTA Tour. Both Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina slammed the rule change, which gives a pass into the second round for players who went deep at a tournament the week before. But Swiatek claimed it was the right decision despite missing out on a ranking bye as a result, saying it “didn’t matter”.

Performance byes have been causing controversy in recent weeks as the WTA has reintroduced a rule that allows players who reach the semi-final of a tournament the week before to get a pass to the second round in the following tournament. Previously, the top seeds at each event would get to bypass the first round.

While players like Rybakina have shared their frustration over the new rule, Swiatek has bucked the trend as she backed the WTA’s decision to implement the performance byes. The four-time Grand Slam champion was one of the players who would have regularly received a ranking bye at the WTA 1000 in Beijing but didn’t because those who went deep in Tokyo last week received them instead.

But the second seed wasn’t fussed despite experiencing the performance byes for the first time in her young career. She explained: “I didn’t really dig into this rule so much because these are the first tournaments that I’m playing where it’s possible to get this kind of thing. But it’s been on tour for a long time.”

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After her own experiences in trying to get from one tournament to the next, the 22-year-old agreed that it was the right call. “I think it’s smart because usually when I had tournaments that I played until the end, I know how it is to rush to another tournament and not have time to rest and prepare. So I think that rule is fine. I think that rule makes sense,” she added.

And Swiatek wasn’t interested in getting involved in a row over the rule. “I just want to focus on myself,” she said. “For me, doesn’t matter if I’m going to play one more match. It’s another opportunity for me to kind of win and to play. So it doesn’t matter to me if I play another match or not.”

In comparison, Sabalenka and Rybakina have both hit out at the performance byes. The new world No 1 also weighed in during the China Open after she didn’t receive a bye into the second round despite being the top seed. “I think you have to earn those byes,” she said.

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“You have to do it for the consistency of your game, not just for playing well in a tournament, so you get this advantage. You have to deserve it, that’s why I don’t understand it and I don’t agree.”

Rybakina shared her fury ahead of the Tokyo Open when those who reached the semi-final in Guadalajara the week before received byes, meaning she didn’t get one as the third seed. “Performance bye. Thank you for changing the rules last moment. Great decisions as always @wta,” she wrote on Instagram alongside a clown and circus emoji. She later pulled out of the tournament for unrelated health reasons.

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