Iga Swiatek earns support of Serena Williams' ex-coach after Madrid Open scheduling comment

Serena Williams’ former coach Rennae Stubbs has voiced support for Iga Swiatek following her comments on the scheduling of matches at the Madrid Open.

Swiatek finished runner-up in Madrid, losing to World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka in the final. In the runner-up speech, Swiatek commented about the late scheduling of matches at the event, saying it wasn’t “fun to play at 1 am in the night.”

The comments drew some criticism online, with one user stating that such scheduling is necessary for the tournament to maximize revenue. In reply, Stubbs asked if Carlos Alcaraz played a single match second in the night session.

“Did Alcaraz play one match second at night?” she asked.

When the user responded that the broadcasters decided the schedule, Stubbs quickly pointed out that broadcasters merely put in requests and that the ATP, WTA and the tournament ultimately make the decision.

“TV does NOT decide, they request. The tournament director then works with the TV networks, the WTA & the ATP. They then decide based on many different factors,” Stubbs wrote.

The user then claimed that Iga Swiatek's comments were a violation of the rules that prohibit criticizing a tournament. In reply, Stubbs said that several players had done it in the past and that Swiatek did nothing wrong.

The 52-year-old coach also claimed that while Novak Djokovic may have once said TV decides the schedule, that was not actually true.

“come on! Do u know how many players have said things that are not positive publicly about a tournament. This isn’t the first time and it won’t be the last. I can assure u the WTA will NOT be fining Iga. Also, Novak may have said it but u repeated it and u know it's not true,” she wrote.

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Many believe Iga Swiatek's complaints about 2023 Madrid Open scheduling were not unfounded

2023 Madrid Open runner-up, Iga Swiatek

Iga Swiatek went down to Aryna Sabalenka in the 2023 Madrid Open final after a grueling three-set battle. The Pole did not mince words during the presentation ceremony, stating it was not “fun” to play at 1 am during the night session.

"It’s not fun to play at 1 am though, so I’m happy anyway that I was able to get past this experience and survive and be in the final," Swiatek said.

Many on Twitter agreed with Swiatek's viewpoint. They claimed that Swiatek - and other women's players - often had to play at difficult times because the tournament organizers seemingly wanted to put the top male players in the best slots.

The defeat on Sunday marked Swiatek's first on clay in 2023. Her win-loss record for the season stands at 25-5 so far. The Pole now leads 5-3 in her head-to-head record against Sabalenka, and 3-1 on clay.