The locker room was quiet, save for the faint hum of the air-conditioning. Iga Swiatek sat with her racket bag half-zipped, perhaps staring at her phone as headlines flashed across the screen: ‘Swiatek loses No. 1 ranking.’ Her mind ‌might have drifted back to long nights of travel, the endless string of press conferences, and the tournaments she had skipped—not out of indifference, but to protect her body and mind. Yet here she was, watching her hard-earned points slip away, not because of a lost match, but because of a rulebook clause that demanded more than she could give.

This was the story of the 2024 season, where she unexpectedly lost the top spot to Aryna Sabalenka. For Swiatek, the battle wasn’t just against rivals like Sabalenka or Coco Gauff anymore. It was against the WTA calendar itself—a calendar that asked her to be everywhere, all the time. And as the season wore on, the rule forcing players into “mandatory” events revealed its true cost: fatigue, frustration, and for some, the loss of a crown. Complaining about this hectic schedule, Swiatek once claimed that there are “too many tournaments in the season,” which is making “tennis less fun” for players. Talking about the impact of the tennis calendar, we also heard her say that she doesn’t think the sport is “going in the right direction.”

But not just Iga Swiatek; even former French pro Caroline Garcia had to shut down the season early last year, citing panic and anxiety attacks as well as the mental impact of the “constant grind of tennis.”

Now, as per the current rules, all the top women’s tennis players are basically expected to play 21 events in a single season. The rule has been a hot topic of debate in the tennis world; the WTA has a clear goal of hosting competitive 500-level events in an effort to attain equal prize money.

Ultimately, not all of these events are factored into someone’s WTA ranking, with a maximum of 18 tournaments considered for any woman’s ranking; this is increased to 19 should they reach the WTA Finals. These 18 events included all four major tournaments plus six combined WTA 1000 events, one WTA-only 1000 event, and the seven best results from the remaining events of any player.

Suppose players haven’t competed in enough events outside of the Grand Slam or WTA 1000 tournaments; what is known as a ‘zero-pointer’ is factored into their rankings. Elaborating further on this, it is where zero points from a WTA 500 event a player didn’t compete at are added onto their ranking, with points from another event removed—usually a higher-level event (like a WTA 1000) where the player won the fewest points. 

However, there are a few exemptions in this! For example, a player is allowed to withdraw from events if they cite an injury. They can also cite a personal matter, as Iga Swiatek did with her withdrawals from Beijing and Wuhan last year.

Last year’s Asian swing saw a significant rankings maneuver when Aryna Sabalenka returned to the top of the table at the expense of Swiatek, when the WTA’s controversial mandatory rules took effect.

Why did Iga Swiatek drop points last year?

For players like Swiatek, the mandatory events rule has illuminated the tension between excellence and endurance. She has had to make decisions—to chase yet another 500 event, maybe sacrificing rest before a Slam, or allow herself a break, knowing it might cost her the rankings. So, it’s more like a balancing act between being at the top and staying there without burning out.

Iga Swiatek played 68 matches last season, but the reason why she dropped points was that she couldn’t meet the official WTA rules regarding the number of events a player must compete in a season. In 2024, the Pole played all four Slams and seven of the ten WTA 1000-level tournaments on Tour. However, Swiatek played only two WTA 500-level events in 2024 (the United Cup in January and the Stuttgart Open in May).

As a result, she was penalized by the zero-point penalty, and her lowest scores from the tournament contributing to her ranking were nullified. She lost 120 points from her fourth-round finish at the Miami Open, leaving her with just 9,665 points. On the other side, Aryna Sabalenka, who played only four 500 events in 2024, also lost points, though she has only been deducted 10 points for her worst result in Dubai—and her 9,706 points were just enough to put the Belarusian above Swiatek in the rankings.

Later on, while speaking about this during Andy Roddick’s Served podcast, Iga Swiatek said, “When I lost the No.1 to Aryna for a couple of weeks, I was kind of devastated...Maybe it was not a lot of humility but I felt like I deserved to be No.1 and it was taken away from me. And having these kinds of feelings didn’t help me for the next month, because I just felt like the world is not fair.”

Can this rule affect them yet again this year?

As it stands, it looks likely that Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka will again miss out on fulfilling the mandatory WTA 500 event requirement for 2025. Swiatek recently competed in her fourth WTA 500 event (Korea Open) and there she defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova in the final by three sets. Other than this tournament, when it comes to the WTA 500 events, she took part in the United Cup, Bad Homburg Open, and the Stuttgart Open this year. As things stand, she’ll probably now play in Beijing and Wuhan before the WTA Finals. So, there are the least chances of her playing another WTA 500 event before then. 

Aryna Sabalenka will also miss the WTA mandatory requirements this year. She has competed at the WTA 500 events in Brisbane, Stuttgart, and Berlin so far. As a result of this, she is now set to fall three events short. The rule is undoubtedly controversial, but it looks set to affect the WTA’s top 2 ranked players once again. But the question is, last year, we saw Swiatek losing the top spot. Will Sabalenka receive a similar fate this year? Time will tell! But amid all these, the Pole has come up with a special request.

Iga Swiatek urges a meeting between the WTA and the ITF for the controversial rule

As things stand, the ATP apparently has somewhat similar expectations in place, although they’re nowhere near as strict as the WTA. The top players are essentially required to play at least four of the 500 tournaments throughout the year, including at least one after the US Open. They also get a zero score to represent each 500 where they fell short, but still, the bottom line is that the ATP has much stronger fields for its 500 tournaments compared to the WTA.

In a recent press conference, Swiatek claimed that she thinks it’s time for the ITF and WTA to have a conversation about the rules in their current practice. She said, “I haven’t because I knew I’m not playing these Finals. But I think it’s a good decision in terms of the scheduling because it’s just tough in November for a player who don’t play the WTA Finals to be kind of still in the season for more weeks and not be able to go on vacation because, I mean, okay, maybe I shouldn’t speak about vacation, but let’s be honest, we don’t have time during the year. We need to do that for our bodies as well. Other players will wait. Other players will go on holiday, then practice a couple of days, play the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, which also is not perfect.”

She also added, “Yeah, putting it right now, I think it’s better. But the question is if actually finally maybe ITF and WTA talk together and maybe these players don’t have to play these six mandatory 500s, or five, because they have one week less to do that. That’s the question. Honestly, I got to say, because I didn’t play, I don’t know these rules (smiling). If WTA treated this as another tournament, maybe let them not have the six mandatory 500s, I think it would be nice. But I have no idea how it is.”

Now, if we take a look at the WTA Live Rankings, Aryna Sabalenka is currently sitting at the top with 11,010 points, while Iga Swiatek is in second place with 8,443 points. Things could change pretty rapidly, even this year. So, fasten your seatbelts for yet another blockbuster ending to the season! Who, according to you, will finish the year as the world number one?

Written by

Sayantan Roy

Sayantan Roy is a seasoned tennis journalist at EssentiallySports. He brings a deep tactical understanding to his coverage, breaking down head-to-head records, match dynamics, and on-court strategies with precision. For more than two years, Sayantan has been a key member of the Live Events desk, delivering real-time insights and data-backed predictions for the platform’s Matchday Preview section. His analytical approach has sparked editorial debates and drawn recognition from respected tennis voices, including commentator and analyst Olly_Tennis. Combining his experience in writing with a passion for insightful sports journalism, Sayantan’s work serves as a trusted reference point for tennis fans around the world.

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Edited by

Purva Jain