Swiatek bemoans empty stadiums at WTA Finals: “We can’t feel like we’re on a celebration”

The world No 2 said the WTA needed to do more to ensure their Finals are worthy of their name

Zuma / Panoramic

November 2, 2023

Iga Swiatek has added to criticism of the WTA surrounding the WTA Finals, saying that the players involved “can’t really feel like we’re on a tennis celebration”.

The late decision to stage this year’s event in Cancun resulted in players not being able to practice on the main court until the day before the tournament began, while the state of the court and the whole organisation has been criticised by many players, led by world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka.

Swiatek: "I hope for the next matches we can make the stadium full, because there are many empty seats. Guys, please come and watch our game. We are giving 100% in every match". pic.twitter.com/t8rDokEUoc
— Relevant Tennis (@RelevantTennis) October 30, 2023

Swiatek has been careful not to blame those who built the stadium at short notice but after beating Coco Gauff on Wednesday, the world No 2 said the WTA spoke on court, asking more fans to come and then, in press afterwards, had a lot of questions to answer, particularly because of the relatively-empty stands.

“Honestly, I think there’s plenty they can do,” she told reporters, when asked what the WTA can do. “It’s a pretty weird situation where we have meetings with the WTA and we kind of explain to them what should be done sometimes.

“For sure, there’s potential to work on that. Obviously, they decided late that we’re going to play here. For sure, you know the marketing should be better. It’s a shame that we don’t have a full stadium, like, we can’t really feel like we’re on a tennis celebration for the whole week.”