Asked about calendar reform, Sabalenka calms down: "It's a difficult choice".
It's no secret that the ATP and WTA calendar changes have caused quite a stir. Indeed, most Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 events are now played over almost two weeks. This reform, due to take effect in 2023, is the talk of the town. While several players, such as Zverev and Rybakina, have already criticized the change, others are trying to put things into perspective.
This was the case, for example, of Lorenzo Sonego, who declared himself rather satisfied with the change, explaining that he felt less tired. In comments relayed by Tennis Infinity, Aryna Sabalenka, world no. 2 and unfortunate finalist in Madrid and Rome, was also keen to put into perspective the failure preached by some.
Explaining her appreciation of the existence of rest days during tournaments, she declared: "I know a lot of players complain about it. They'd prefer a week-long tournament. Personally, I don't know, it's a difficult choice. I know myself. For me, it's better to have a day off because I'm able to forget tennis for a day and be a bit relaxed.
Before, when we played over a week, it was just too much. Sometimes the matches are very intense and after finishing the tournament, personally, I was mentally and physically overwhelmed."