Aryna Sabalenka chides tour chiefs over ‘insane’ tennis schedule

BRISBANE – Hours after women’s world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka accused tennis authorities on Jan 8 of failing to prioritise player welfare over what she called an “insane” tennis season, the men’s circuit announced a slight compromise in the number of mandatory tournaments for its players.

Speaking after beating Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 6-3 in the last 16 at the year-opening Brisbane International, the Belarusian four-time Grand Slam champion said she was prepared to be fined for missing mandatory tournaments in the months ahead.

The number of events in the tennis calendar has been a frequent complaint in recent months among the sport’s biggest names.

“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, so it’s a lot of struggle for all of us,” said Sabalenka, who will face Australian Open champion Madison Keys in the quarter-finals in a repeat of the 2025 Melbourne Park final.

“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 1000 events. 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.”

Top players are obliged to compete in all four Grand Slams, ten WTA 1000 tournaments and six WTA 500 events under WTA rules, with the punishment for missing them ranging from rankings points deductions to fines.

In September 2025, world No. 2 Iga Swiatek proclaimed that “the season is too long and too intense”.

She added: “Maybe I will have to choose some tournaments and skip them, even though they are mandatory.

“We have to be smart about it – not really unfortunately care about the rules and just think what’s healthy for us.”

There was no immediate response from the WTA Tour.

In September, the WTA told Reuters that athlete welfare is a top priority and that it had listened to views on the calendar, both through the players’ council and their representatives on the WTA board, to improve the circuit structure and boost compensation.

Also on Jan 8, Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen announced she was withdrawing from the Australian Open later in January due to a lack of physical conditioning.

The Chinese is a former finalist at Melbourne Park, losing to Sabalenka 6-3, 6-2 in 2024.

Zheng underwent surgery on her elbow following a first-round defeat at Wimbledon in July before returning to the WTA Tour in September.

However, she pulled out in the third round of the China Open in Beijing after admitting that she had rushed her return to competitive action.

The men’s and women's circuits have faced criticism due to their 11-month seasons, and both tours came under fresh scrutiny during the “Asian swing” towards the end of 2025, with injuries piling up.

Men’s world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and second-ranked Jannik Sinner have voiced concern about the amount of tennis they play, although they have also signed up to feature in lucrative exhibition matches.

The duo will face off in one such event on Jan 10 in South Korea, barely a week before the Australian Open.

In October, ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi defended men’s tennis’ crowded calendar, saying scheduling remains the players’ choice and that the tour is working to set clearer incentives, so the right number of matches are played across the season.

On Jan 8, the ATP announced a slight compromise by reducing the number of obligatory tournaments players must play each year in an ever more packed schedule.

The ATP said it was reducing the number of ATP 500 events players must take part in each year from five to four, and also cutting back the maximum number of events used to calculate ranking points, from 19 to 18.

The ATP said this was done “to create more scheduling flexibility”.

Top 30 ATP players are obliged, unless injured, to compete in the four Grand Slams, the nine Masters 1000 tournaments, the ATP Finals (if they qualify) and four ATP 500 events.

Alcaraz played 80 matches in 2025, winning 71 of them, while Sinner played 79 matches in 2024, winning 73.

Another compromise announced by the ATP to alleviate the pressure on players is that anyone who pulls out of an ongoing tournament due to the birth or adoption of a child will now keep the ranking points they have gained until then, meaning they would not have to play in an extra tournament to gain ranking points for the ATP Finals.

Meanwhile, in on-court action in Brisbane, world No. 5 Elena Rybakina saw off Paula Badosa 6-3, 6-2 to book a quarter-final date against Karolina Muchova, who overcame 10th-ranked Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 7-5.

World No. 6 Jessica Pegula also made it to the last eight by beating Dayana Yastremska 5-7, 6-2, 6-3. She will next meet Liudmila Samsonova, who trumped Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-4, 6-4.

The last quarter-final will be between ninth-ranked Mirra Andreeva and Marta Kostyuk. Kostyuk upset world No. 3 Amanda Anisimova 6-4, 6-3 to book her spot, while Andreeva edged out Linda Noskova 5-7, 6-4, 7-5.

At the United Cup in Perth and Sydney, Belgium advanced to semi-finals for the first time, beating the Czech Republic 2-1. They will face Switzerland in the last four. The other semi-final will be between the US and either Australia or Poland. AFP, REUTERS