Iga Swiatek is one of the biggest advocates for mental health in sports, having experience dealing with it herself.
Swiatek always looked destined for greatness, but getting there took a lot of work and introspection. We all remember her breaking down on a tennis court again and crying against Maria Sakkari in Guadalajara, which she had to overcome.
It would never be easy, but it had to be done, and she took the steps needed. She hired a sports psychologist and slowly tackled all those fears and doubts about herself that held her back.
After building herself up mentally, Swiatek quite literally took over the WTA Tour. She's the best player in the world right now (ranked 1st) and has been for almost two years now.
She's also become one of the most prominent mental health advocates on the tennis Tour, which she continues to do through speaking about it and various donations.
In a recent exclusive interview with Eurosport, she urged the WTA to take more steps towards actually doing what they're preaching in regard to mental health.
The calendar is changing towards even more duties, even greater expenditure of energy that we will have to devote while participating in tournaments, because the tournaments are also extended. It is simply not conducive to what the WTA promotes in other aspects, i.e. mental health, life balance in any way, physical health.
Swiatek has a point, and there are certain steps that could be undertaken to make it a bit more palpable for players, but ultimately, the Tour functions as a business.
It will always operate as a business, but she can keep advocating for change. That's certainly a positive use of her platform and very much needed.
I would make decisions that would be more conducive to what they promote and support.
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