© Getty Images Sport – Clive Brunskill
Iga Swiatek has announced that she won’t be competing at a WTA 1000 tournament in Guadalajara next week “due to a change of schedule.” Swiatek, who officially lost her world No 1 ranking this Monday, was scheduled to play her first tournament since the US Open in Mexico next week.
After suffering a shock US Open round-of-16 exit, Swiatek wants to “wisely plan” her schedule for the remainder of the year so she is withdrawing from Guadalajara and plans to return to action at a WTA 500 event in Tokyo, which starts on September 25th.
“Hi guys! Unfortunately, I need to withdraw from the tournament in Guadalajara due to a change of schedule. I need to listen to my body and as the season is very intense – our no 1 priority is to play it until the end in good health and plan it wisely so we wouldn’t risk an injury.
I’m sorry to not be there but I’m sure the atmosphere in Guadalajara will be as amazing as I remember. See you in Tokyo,” Swiatek said in a message posted on social media.
⤵️ pic.twitter.com/T0hqeK6Ipc — Iga Świątek (@iga_swiatek) September 13, 2023
Swiatek said it is going to be ‘a clean slate’ for her when she plays again
At the US Open, Swiatek failed to defend her title and also lost the world No 1 position she had been holding since April 2022.
Two days later, Swiatek had something she wanted to share with her fans. “Last 1,5 year was a time of observing and experiencing how much people talk and write about ‘defending’, ‘defense’ – of titles, ranking position, points…
I was surprised sometimes to start to think this way because of this. But… I don’t need to defend anything and this is a good moment to write down some thoughts. For me sport is a cycle of constant changes exactly like in everyday life, we can either win or lose – that’s it, it’s so simple.
New season, next tournament, new opportunities to GAIN, ACHIEVE, not defend something. Clean slate,” Swiatek said in a message she posted after her US Open loss.
