Poland’s hopes of success in the Billie Jean King Cup have been dealt a massive blow after French Open champion Iga Swiatek opted to not play in the event this year.
The reigning French Open champion has said her decision to withdraw is related to the ‘challenges and surprises’ on playing on the WTA Tour during the COVID-19 pandemic. Various international restrictions are still in place and some tournaments have created their own ‘bubbles’ where players are required to remain during their stay. Instead the 19-year-old says she intends to focus solely on her Tour commitments.
“As this first ‘full’ year on (the) WTA Tour is full of challenges and surprises, especially in Covid-reality, I have to adjust and adapt to the circumstances,” Swiatek wrote.
The world No.16 has represented her country in eight ties so far in her career and has won seven out of 10 matches. Last year she won all three of her matches played. Originally named the Fed Cup, the premier women’s team event was renamed in 2020 in honour of former world No.1 Billie Jean King.
Despite her absence, Swiatek still hopes to bring success to her home country at the Tokyo Olympic Games where she will be bidding to become the first Polish tennis player in history to win a medal at the games. Poland has won 68 gold medals at the Summer Olympics with 25 of those being in athletics.
“(The) Olympic Games remains one of the most relevant goals for this season and I will do my best in Tokyo to represent my country,” she said. “At the same time I hope to play many more Billie Jean King Cup matches in the future.”
The Tokyo Olympics will get underway on July 23rd after being delayed by a year due to the pandemic. The tennis tournament will begin a day after the opening ceremony at the Ariake Coliseum which is the venue that also hosts the Pan Pacific Open.
Swiatek has won 10 out of 13 matches played so far this season across four tournaments. Her best performance was at the Adelaide International where she defeated Belinda Bencic to win her second WTA title after the French Open. She also reached the fourth round of the Australian Open.
