Tennis: Iga Swiatek still on the attack, the boss of the WTA gets scared

Holder of a Master’s degree in sports journalism, I fell in love with tennis since childhood and have always loved reading the great stories of this sport. Today, I want to tell them about them, take full advantage of my passion and be as close as possible to the aces of the circuit.

World number one at the end of a more difficult season than the previous one, Iga Swiatek showed incredible strength to stay at the top. The Pole regularly takes the floor like her counterparts to complain about leadership problems at the WTA and she did not hesitate to do so again recently. Faced with the problems, the tennis body has chosen to rearrange its structure since Steve Simon will leave his position as general director.

Incredibly dominant in 2022, Every Swiatek slowed down the pace a little in 2023 and above all saw its adversaries hold it back. Fallen from her throne just after theUS Openthe Pole finished with a bang to regain the place of world number one, only the second player in the 21st century to achieve this performance in two consecutive years after Serena Williams. But she had to make a significant effort, sometimes too great for her.

Inconsistencies pointed out

Ending the year with an incredible title at the Masters by outclassing all his opponents, Every Swiatek regained its number 1 position. But this scandalous competition caused a lot of talk. “The calendar is evolving towards even more obligations, even more expenditure of energy that we will have to devote to participating in tournaments, because the tournaments are also extended. It’s just not conducive to what the WTA promotes in other aspects, i.e. mental health, life balance in any way, physical health. I will make decisions more favorable to what they promote and support” declared the Pole in an interview with Eurosport.

Tennis: Nadal is back, an incredible meeting awaits him! https://t.co/PNuF3SdeiM pic.twitter.com/lNy1lSJKRQ

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Steve Simon will leave his place

Director General of the WTA since 2015, Steve Simon will give up his place to a woman in 2024. The 68-year-old American has suffered a lot of criticism in recent months and has not convinced at all. “Last summer, I communicated to the WTA Board of Directors the need to completely overhaul our organizational structure if we want the WTA to remain at the forefront of women’s sport. I think it’s in the best interest of the organization because it’s grown so much over the last eight years. Our preference is to find a female candidate. I think it makes sense.” he says.

Total reorganization at the WTA

And Steve Simon is going to leave his position to a woman, he is not going to leave the WTA however. Indeed, the structure has confided that the roles of president and general manager will be separated to best succeed in the missions. Steve Simon will therefore become the executive president and will always have a large role to play in the governance or strategic interests of the WTA. Could this be the start of a small revolution?