Iga Swiatek told to skip US Open as Martina Navratilova comes down hard on world No 1
Iga Swiatek has received some brutal advice from Martina Navratilova ahead of her US Open title defence. The world No 1 has been honest about having nothing left in the tank following her recent defeat to Coco Gauff in Cincinnati. But Navratilova said Swiatek needed to either “suck it up” or choose not to play the US Open.
Swiatek is preparing to try and defend her US Open crown – so far her only Grand Slam title away from the clay courts of Paris. The 22-year-old’s North American swing hasn’t gone how she would have liked so far as she suffered semi-final losses in both Canada and Cincinnati.
The world No 1 hasn’t had much of a break since Wimbledon, as she played her home tournament in Warsaw and lifted the title at the end of last month. But retired tennis legend Navratilova has come down hard on Swiatek, telling her to take the time off if she wouldn’t “get on with it”.
“The stress on the players, I understand that – and Iga being Polish she had to play Warsaw. Normally, if she wasn’t Polish, she would have never played [that event] and would have taken an extra couple of weeks of rest so maybe that’s why she’s tired,” the 18-time Grand Slam champion told i.
