Sloane Stephens blasts ATP, WTA over one particular 'bad thing'

Yesterday at 06:50 PM

Sloane Stephens says there are definitely players who force themselves into playing certain tournaments but adds that the ATP and WTA tours are to blame for that because their rules are the reason behind that since no one wants to pay fines. 

Throughout the year - especially toward the end of the season - players have been very critical of the calendar and claiming that it is "too long and demanding." Recently, Carlos Alcaraz went as far as to say that "they are going to kill us in some ways," while top WTA players like Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina are also well-known critics of the schedule.

And now, 2017 US Open champion Stephens is also addressing the issue. 

“I never pushed myself to be like 'I am going to stick it out for another three weeks just because I need my ranking.' I feel like a lot of players just do that in general. You are just there because you don’t want to pay the fine, or you’re supposed to be, you entered the tournament and you don’t want to have any more withdrawals. You are like I’m present but mentally I’m not here,” the 31-year-old explained during her appearance on Caroline Garcia's Tennis Insider Club.

Since players are mandated to play a certain number of tournaments from the WTA 1000 and WTA 500 categories, there are times when basically skipping an event isn't an option. And the American tennis star has never been a fan of it. 

“I feel like that is one of the bad things about both tours, ATP and WTA, is that you are forced to play even when you are probably not in the best mental capacity or physical shape, or you might be injured and you just arrive because that’s what you are supposed to do," the former world No. 3 added.

So far this season, Stephens has played in 22 tournaments and owns a 19-22 record.