(Tennis news) World number 1 Iga Swiatek will not be participating in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals. The 21 year old had hoped to represent Poland in the tournament that will begin on November 8th in Glasgow but will not be able to do so as the WTA Finals in Texas will end the day before. 

Criticising the upcoming scheduling of tennis events, Swiatek said “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. 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." 

Having already won the French Open earlier this year, Swiatek won her first US Open title last month. She will be competing in the season ending WTA Finals in Texas from October 31st in which the top eight players will be competing in a round-robin format. This means that players that are hoping to compete at the Billie Jean King Cup will have one day to travel to Glasgow, which is six hours behind to represent their country at the event.

Speaking about the chaotic schedule, Swiatek said “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. 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." 

The International Tennis Federation have responded by saying that they will make changes to the 2023 schedule to ensure it is not difficult for players to compete in multiple tournaments. ITF president David Haggerty said: "The ITF is sorry that Iga Swiatek is unable to take part in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals and recognises that the schedule for the two major year-end events presents a challenge for players competing in both. We have been working with the WTA to try to coordinate suitable dates. 

“While we were able to confirm the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Glasgow back in June, the WTA Finals venue in Fort Worth was confirmed during the US Open and restricted in terms of available dates. The ITF revised the match schedule of the 2022 Finals so that teams such as Poland and USA would start as late as possible. We are committed to working with the WTA on the 2023 schedule so that we have a better transition between the two competitions." 

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