World No. 1 Inga Sweetek out of Billie Jean King Cup, scheduling 'not secure' CBC Sports

Top-ranked Inga Swietec will not play in the Billie Jean King Cup and complained on Monday that the event was set to start soon after the WTA Finals.

“I am disappointed that [the] Tennis governing bodies did not come to an agreement on something as basic as the tournament’s calendar, giving us only one day to travel around the world and change time zones,” Sweetek wrote on social media. “This situation is not safe. Our health may suffer further injury.”

The WTA Finals – which ends the season of the women’s tennis tour and is for the top eight singles players and the top eight doubles teams – are in Fort Worth, Texas, from October 31 to November 7. The Billie Jean King Cup – a team competition run by the International Tennis Federation – will be held in Glasgow, Scotland from 8-13 November.

The 21-year-old from Poland is establishing herself as a dominant force in women’s tennis. She is a three-time Grand Slam champion including the French Open in June and the US Open in September. Those victories made her the first woman since 2016 to win two major titles in the same season.

Entering a tournament that will take place in Ostrava, Czech Republic, this week, vetek is 57-7 with seven titles in 2022. He put together a 37-match winning streak from February to July, the longest on the WTA in a quarter-century. and helped him earn six trophies in a row.

Poland’s Inga Swietek celebrates with a championship trophy after defeating Ons Jabur of Tunisia during her women’s singles final at the 2022 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City. (Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Sweetek said she reached the decision to sit out the Billie Jean King Cup “after much thought and re-discussing it with her team”.

The other 11 countries competing there are Australia, Belgium, Britain, Canada, the Czech Republic, Italy, Kazakhstan, Spain, Slovakia, Switzerland and the United States.

So far, other singles players in a position to compete in the WTA Finals whose countries are going to be in the Billie Jean King Cup include No. 4 Paula Badosa of Spain, No. 6 Jessica Pegula of the US and No. 8 Coco Gough. of America

look | Swietek beats Jabeur in US Open women’s final

Iga Wiątek beat Ons Jabur to capture US Open Championship

Poland’s Iga Swietake defeated Tunisia’s Ons Jabur 6-2, 7-6(5) to win the third Grand Slam title of her career at the US Open Championship.

Sweetek wrote that his return “makes me sad” and added: “I am very sorry, because I play for Poland whenever possible and I always give my best.”

She said she “plans to talk to the WTA and the ITF to change something. This situation is difficult not only for players like me, but mainly for tennis fans who support our sport.”

ITF President David Haggerty said that his group regrets that Sweetek will not participate in the team competition “and recognizes that the schedule of the two major year-end events presents a challenge to players competing in both events.” . We are working with the WTA to try to coordinate the appropriate dates.”

Haggerty said the ITF has changed the schedule of the BJK Cup final so that teams like Poland and the United States can start sooner.

“We are committed to working with the WTA on the 2023 schedule,” Haggerty said in a statement released by the ITF, “so that we can have a better transition between the two competitions.”

The WTA Finals was moved from Shenzhen, China, as part of the suspension of all tournaments in that country due to concerns about the safety of Peng Shuai, a Grand Slam doubles champion who sexually assaulted a former Chinese government official. was accused of harassment.

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