World No.1 Iga Swiatek confirmed on Monday that she will not be representing Poland in next month’s Billie Jean King Cup finals in Glasgow. Swiatek cited poor scheduling and handling of the tournament calendar as her reason behind pulling out of the competition and thus slammed the Sporting authorities for not taking due care of the gaps between tournaments. 

Poland progressed to the finals in April riding on Swiatek’s performances but the tournament will now be held between November 8 and 13, which is just a day after the season-ending WTA Finals.

“I was thinking it through a lot and discussing it with my team all over again, but I will not be able to play at the Billie Jean King Cup in Glasgow. And it makes me sad,” Swiatek said on Instagram.

“I’m very sorry because I play for Poland whenever it’s possible and I always give it my best. Playing in Poland this year was an honor and I hoped to do this again at the end of the season.

“I’m disappointed that tennis governing bodies didn’t come to an agreement on something as basic as the calendar of tournaments, giving us only one day to travel through the globe and changing the time zone,” the Pole added.

The WTA Finals are organized by the women’s tennis body whereas the Billie Jean King Cup is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF).

Swiatek stressed how this situation isn’t safe for the health of the athletes as it can cause injury. She assured me that she is going to hold talks with the WTA and ITF to change things.

A total of 12 teams will be taking part in the Billie Jean King Cup where they will be split into four round-robin groups of three teams each. The group winners will then move on to the semifinals. Poland is placed in Group D along with the Czech Republic and the United States.