WTA punish top stars as Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka stripped of ranking points
A group of top players who have been penalised for failing to play the required number of mandatory tournaments this season, leading to punishments from the WTA
A group of top female tennis players who have been penalised for failing to play the required number of mandatory tournaments this season - including Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka.
Players on the WTA Tour must compete in at least six WTA 500s in a single year. But neither Swiatek or Sabalenka meet the required threshold in 2025. Nor do Australian Open Madison Keys, Coco Gauff and Amanda Ansimova, all of whom have had ranking points stripped this week.
Players who skip mandatory events have their ranking ‘zeroed out’, which essentially means ranking points from other tournaments they have entered this year are removed as punishment. As such, when the weekly rankings updated on Monday, October 20, the aforementioned quintet lost out.
Sabalenka, Gauff and Anisimova all had 10 points removed. But Keys lost 54 points and Swiatek had 65 taken away.
It is not the first time Swiatek has been punished, the rule causing chaos last year when she had ranking points removed for playing just two eligible WTA 500 events. That duly saw her lose her world No.1 spot.
The Polish star was docked 20 from her last 16 exit in Miami while Sabalenka only lost 10 points from an opening-round defeat in Dubai. That meant that Sabalenka became world No.1, a position she has duly held ever since.
This time, the penalties do not affect ranking positions. However, it's not the end of the matter, with players expected to be hit with another zero-pointer next week. Sabalenka, Swiatek, Gauff and Anisimova have only played in three WTA 500 events this year, while Keys has contested four.
Last week’s Ningbo Open was the penultimate WTA 500 of the season and one of their last chances to fulfil the requirements. But none of the fivesome entered and because they didn't feature, they were docked ranking points.
Players have been outspoken about the demanding tennis calendar and the number of mandatory events, with Swiatek admitting she would prioritise her fitness and mental health, even if it meant not meeting the requirements - and subsequently being docked points. The six-time Major winner said: “I don't think any top player will actually be able to achieve this, for example, playing the six 500 tournaments. It's just impossible to squeeze it in the schedule.
“But yeah, I think we have to be smart about it, not really unfortunately care about the rules and just think what's healthy for us. Yeah, it's tough.
“The only thing I can do now, when I decided I'm going to play all these mandatory tournaments, is to just take care of my body, take care of the recovery. I have a good team around me also that is helping me with that. I'm experienced enough to know kind of what to do. So physically I am good.”