Iga Swiatek is set to make her return to tennis at the Korea Open this week.
After Swiatek lost to Amanda Anisimova in the US Open quarterfinals, many expected her to rest up ahead of the two WTA 1000 tournaments in China.
Instead, Swiatek has travelled to Seoul for the Korea Open WTA 500 event, where she will compete as the number-one seed.
Photo by Robert Prange/Getty Images
The Pole has been vocal about the hectic WTA schedule in recent times, and Swiatek claimed the season was ‘super long’ earlier this year.
With those comments in mind, perhaps Swiatek would be wise to listen to what former Grand Slam finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has just said.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova says WTA players need to be ‘smarter’ with their scheduling moves
Appearing as a guest on ‘Bolshe!’, 2021 French Open finalist Pavlyuchenkova had this to say about players competing in Korea.
“All the girls are complaining and groaning in the changing rooms, ‘What a [long] season’, and then I see everyone is already in Korea,” she said.
“They’re already starting to play. I think… You literally just complained about the season, and now you’ve already flown away. Why?
“Be smarter with your schedule, right? Yet everyone still plays.”
Swiatek isn’t the only one playing in Seoul, as several other big names have joined her in the South Korean capital.
Top eight seeds at the 2025 Korea Open1. Iga Swiatek2. Ekaterina Alexandrova3. Clara Tauson4. Daria Kasatkina5. Diana Shnaider6. Beatriz Haddad Maia7. Sofia Kenin8. Emma Raducanu
Pavlyuchenkova explained why the Asian swing of events is particularly difficult for players on tour.
“It’s difficult for me, and it’s not even a matter of age at all, because when I was 25 or 26, it was still hard for me. You fly in from America, adapt both in time and conditions,” she said.
“There are different balls at each tournament. In Beijing, for example, I think it was Penn, in Tokyo, Srixon, and in Hong Kong, there were Wilson balls.”
Such contrasting conditions can increase the risk of injury, which would be a disaster for a player like Swiatek, who continues to chase down Aryna Sabalenka for the world number one ranking.
Photo by Foto Olimpik/NurPhoto via Getty Images
However, while it’s easy to criticize Swiatek for playing in Korea, did she really have a choice?
Did Iga Swiatek need to play the Korea Open?
Players on the WTA Tour are required to compete in six WTA 500 tournaments every year (five if including the United Cup).
If they fail to do so, their ranking will suffer as a result, thanks to the rules implemented by officials.
“Any zero (0) ranking point results received from a WTA 500 Commitment Tournament must count on a player’s ranking.”
2025 WTA Rulebook
Having participated in January’s United Cup, Swiatek needed to play five WTA 500 tournaments this year.
To this point, the Pole has played just two events at the level.
TournamentMonth(s)PerformanceOpponentScore2025 Porsche Tennis Grand PrixAprilLost in QFJelena Ostapenko3-6, 6-3, 2-62025 Bad Homburg OpenJuneLost in FJessica Pegula4-6, 5-72025 Korea OpenSeptember–––––––––––––Iga Swiatek at WTA 500 tournaments in 2025
Therefore, even with her participation in Korea, Swiatek will score zero points for two events counting towards her ranking.
She isn’t scheduled to compete at the two remaining 2025 WTA 500 events, the Ningbo Open and Pan Pacific Open, either.
With players dropping points by not playing WTA 500 events, the pressure is on for them to compete, even when it doesn’t make sense, physically and mentally, for them to do so.
Swiatek may have preferred to practice for an extra week in the lead-up to the China Open WTA 1000 tournament, but thanks to the WTA rules, she hasn’t been afforded that luxury.
If the WTA Tour wants players to stay fit and compete at the biggest tournaments year-round, then perhaps certain rules need to be changed.
Reducing the requirement from six WTA 500 events to four could alleviate most of these concerns, as the majority of the WTA top ten would be on course to pass that threshold.
WTA 500 events played by top ten players in 20251. Aryna Sabalenka (3/6 – 3/4)2. Iga Swiatek (4/6) – 4/4)3. Coco Gauff (3/6 – 3/4)4. Amanda Anisimova (3/6 – 3/4)5. Mirra Andreeva (4/6 – 4/4)6. Madison Keys (4/6 – 4/4)7. Jessica Pegula (7/6 – 7/4)8. Jasmine Paolini (3/6 – 3/4)9. Qinwen Zheng (2/6 – 2/4)10. Elena Rybakina (5/6 – 5/4)
Whether the WTA decides to make a change to the rules in the future remains to be seen, but it will certainly be something to look out for.
Swiatek is set to begin her Korea Open campaign on Wednesday, September 17, against either Anastasia Zakharova or Sorana Cirstea.