Pegula to spearhead WTA Tour initiatives for enhancing women’s schedule
Jessica Pegula, the runner-up at the 2024 U.S. Open, will head a new 13-member panel tasked with proposing modifications to the women’s tennis calendar, ranking points regulations, and the criteria for participation in specific events, as stated in a letter sent on Tuesday by WTA Tour chair Valerie Camillo to players and tournament officials.
For many years, tennis athletes—both women and men—have expressed concerns that the sport’s season is excessively lengthy and the offseason is insufficient, along with other elements that lead to injuries and fatigue. Camillo indicated that the Tour Architecture Council will provide suggestions to the WTA Board, with the aim of having a revised framework approved by 2027.
“There has been a clear sentiment across the Tour that the current calendar does not feel sustainable for players given the physical, professional, and personal pressures of competing at the highest level,” Camillo, who assumed the chair position in November, noted in the letter, a copy of which was acquired by The Associated Press.
According to Camillo’s letter, the council “will initially concentrate on areas where the WTA has direct authority to instigate change, while also pinpointing long-term opportunities that will necessitate broader collaboration across the sport”—eventually working with the ATP men’s tour and the four Grand Slam tournaments, as she elaborated in a phone interview.
“We are very open to exploring a wide range of potential solutions to this. … The goal is: We approach this with a very open mind and open dialogue,” Camillo informed the AP. “We’re not going to resolve everything (immediately). … The reason we don’t want to delay for, ‘Hey, let’s do this as a collective system,’ (is) we aim to be timely, we want to focus on making an immediate impact.”
The No. 5-ranked Pegula, a 31-year-old American who will lead the council, “has a unique perspective as a top player (and is) widely respected for her thoughtful, collaborative approach,” Camillo remarked.
“It’s one of the toughest sports,” Pegula stated last year, “especially when you consider not only the physical demands but also the schedule, the isolation, the mental challenges, and how difficult it is to compete week after week, on your own.”
No. 1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka and No. 2 Iga Swiatek were among more than six withdrawals from this week’s WTA event in Dubai. During a pre-Australian Open tournament in January, Sabalenka mentioned her intention to skip certain tour stops “to safeguard my body.”
“The season,” she remarked at that time, “is definitely insane.”
Alongside Pegula, active players on the council include Victoria Azarenka from Belarus, a two-time Australian Open champion and former No. 1; Maria Sakkari from Greece, a two-time Grand Slam semifinalist who has reached as high as No. 3; and Katie Volynets from the U.S., currently ranked No. 96.
Camillo, WTA CEO Portia Archer, and three other tour officials are part of the panel, which also includes Anja Vreg, an agent, former player, and former umpire who chairs the WTA Player Board; Bob Moran, whose Beemok Sports & Entertainment organizes tournaments in Cincinnati and Charleston, South Carolina; Laura Ceccarelli, who represents the Asia-Pacific region on the WTA Tournament Council; and Alastair Garland, the managing director of Octagon Tennis and a member of the WTA Board of Directors.
Source: espn.com
