Don’t think the WTA is going to cut you any slack just because you’re the World No. 1 player. Not abiding by rules have consequences, and seems like Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, and Madison Keys learned that the hard way. The WTA delivered a reality check to players who chose to skip mandatory tournaments, extending some painful penalties toward the players.

As per the controversial WTA Tour mandatory event rules, Swiatek has reportedly lost 65 points, Keys lost 54, while Sabalenka, Gauff and Anisimova were stripped of 10 points each. What’s more, they will also “have their ranking zeroed out”, which means their ranking points from other tournaments this year will be removed. Why?

Well, the rules are simple: The WTA’s Mandatory Commitment policy requires highly ranked players to participate in all four Grand Slams, a minimum of six WTA 500 events throughout a season, and all 10 WTA 1000 tournaments. But let’s be honest, players have reasons for skipping. With Grand Slam events, nonstop travel, and media duties, finding time to rest is almost impossible. No wonder players have been ticked off over the new developments.

“Obviously, the season is long,” Swiatek noted in one of her China Open press conferences. “For me, like, I don’t know yet how my career is going to look like in a couple of years. Maybe I will have to choose some tournaments and skip them, even though they are mandatory.

“WTA, with all these mandatory rules, they made this pretty crazy for us. 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. I think we have to be smart about it, not really, unfortunately, care about the rules and just think what’s healthy for us. 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.”

The WTA system produces significant effects in the competition. Like last year, the WTA points system caused Swiatek to lose her No.1 position when Sabalenka took over the top spot. But why does such a rule exist?  Because it wants top players to compete in major events to maintain fair competition and draw sponsors and fans who want to watch their preferred matches. With points decreased, who feels the real impact this time?

Coco Gauff battling to stay ahead in the year-end rankings

Aryna Sabalenka sits at No.1 with 10,390 points, leading Iga Swiatek, who sits at 8,703. Coco Gauff is third with 7,863, followed by Amanda Anisimova at 5,914. With a 1,687-point lead over Swiatek, Sabalenka is all but guaranteed to finish the year as No.1 again, with only the WTA Finals left. Even if Swiatek wins every match there, Sabalenka’s lead is safe. However, Gauff is trailing Swiatek in the Race to Riyadh and holds only a slim 676-point advantage over Anisimova for the top American spot.

Multiple top players have spoken out against the demanding tournament schedule. Swiatek described the mandatory-event rules as “pretty crazy,” while Sabalenka revealed that fatigue made her decide to miss Beijing. “Tennis chiefs have to fix ‘crazy’ WTA Tour schedule,” she said. The numerous tournaments and constant performance expectations make Coco Gauff feel completely drained. While Anisimova described the rules as “spicy” through social media but Keys missed events because of top-10 player participation limitations. But the best players in the world require rest time because their health status now takes precedence over following all rules.les.