Iga Swiatek welcomes the Billie Jean King Cup Finals being scheduled for an earlier date in 2025, but suggests a couple of more changes could be made to help players.
In the last couple of seasons, the Billie Jean King Cup Finals would take place instantly after the WTA Finals. The date was pretty unfavorable to the top players and even made Swiatek withdraw from the BJK Cup Finals a few years ago. But for this season, the ITF made a change and the BJK Cup Finals event took place over five days last week.
Since Poland didn't make the Finals event, Swiatek didn't have a decision to make and she simply signed up for the WTA 500 tournament in Seoul – which she won. Now, at this week's WTA 1000 tournament in Beijing, the world No. 2 described the BJK Cup Finals scheduling change as "a good decision." Also, the six-time Grand Slam champion suggested that this move will give players more chances to rest in late November and early December.
Swiatek: This change is certainly positive, but the WTA should also treat the BJK Cup Finals like any other tournament
"Maybe I shouldn't talk about vacation, but let's be honest, we don't have time for it during the season. And our bodies need it too. Some players wait, others go on vacation, train for a few days, and then play the tournament, which is not ideal," the 24-year-old explained.
"Yes, this change is certainly positive, but there is one important point: the ITF and WTA should work together and allow players to avoid playing six or even five compulsory 500s, because if you play in the BJK Cup Finals, you have one less week to do so. If the WTA could treat it like any other tournament, perhaps removing one of the compulsory 500s, I think that would be a good thing."
Swiatek represented Poland in last year's Billie Jean King Cup Finals. She went 5-0 in her singles matches but the Polish team still didn't win the title after losing in the semifinal to Italy.
