The WTA announced on Tuesday the establishment of a new Tour Architecture Council aimed at addressing issues with the calendar, player commitments, and other core elements of the tour framework.
The news comes at an opportune time as the ongoing Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships has been ravaged by a large and unexpected number of withdrawals and retirements that have raised questions about the feasibility of the current tour structure.
Since Friday, 10 players have withdrawn from the tournament, including the world’s top two – Aryna Sabalenka (right hip injury) and Iga Swiatek (change of schedule) – and three players have retired mid-match.
Tuesday alone witnessed the withdrawal of recent Abu Dhabi champion Sara Bejlek and Russian Daria Kasatkina ahead of their second-round matches, while Ella Seidel (illness) and Paula Badosa (right thigh injury) retired halfway through their respective clashes with Jaqueline Cristian and Elina Svitolina.
Dubai tournament director Salah Tahlak told The National on Saturday he believed harsher sanctions should be placed on players making late withdrawals and suggested they be docked points instead of just handing them fines.
The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships is a WTA 1000 mandatory tournament and players who withdraw face several consequences, including monetary fines that increase with each offence, and incur a zero-pointer in their ranking.
Players have been complaining about the tour schedule and the increase in number of mandatory tournaments, with Swiatek, a six-time major champion, among the most vocal critics.
In a letter released by the tour, WTA chair Valerie Camillo said she has been listening closely to the players in her first 90 days on the job and “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.
“It's important we take a fresh, collaborative look at how to best preserve the high-quality competition that builds value for tournaments and provides an unparalleled experience for fans.”
Camillo added that the group’s initial mandate is to develop actionable recommendations for consideration by the WTA board that can be implemented as soon as the 2027 season.
The council will focus first on areas where the WTA has direct authority to drive change, while also identifying longer-term opportunities that will require broader coordination across the sport.
World No 5 Jessica Pegula will chair the new council.
“As chair, Jessica brings an active top-player perspective to the council's work,” said Camillo.
“She will help guide discussions so they reflect the full range of different player experiences on Tour, while working alongside tournament representatives and WTA leadership as the group works to turn these perspectives into action.”
On Monday, Pegula told The National she understands why some players have opted out of playing Dubai – she herself skipped the WTA 1000 in Doha last week to rest post-Australian Open – and that “the priority is always staying healthy mentally and physically”.
“I just think the way that the calendar worked this year, we got to go to Australia [a week] later, which we were all like, great, but then it catches up at some point in the year. So I think us having a week less, it definitely makes a difference,” added Pegula, referring to the fact the Middle East swing came right after the Australian Open this year instead of a week later.
“I don't personally know how they [the players who withdrew] are feeling physically, mentally, you never really know. But I know that the schedule is very tough, and it's not easy, and I think at some point in the year, if you do have a few good results, I think some weeks, unfortunately, do become a little bit of a sacrifice if you're thinking long term.
“I can't knock any player that wants to make that decision for themselves.
“At the end of the day, we play a lot, we play a full schedule, we play 10, 11 months out of the year sometimes. And I think right now we're living in an age too where the priority is always staying healthy mentally and physically, and you never know where a player is at with that.
“Even if they've been winning matches, you don't know if they've been dealing with an injury throughout that whole time or not. And that's where you see people, I think, especially top players, maybe be a little bit more choosy with that schedule until maybe it changes in the future.”
Tour Architecture Council
Jessica Pegula – Chair of the Tour Architecture Council and WTA players’ council member representing top 20 players; holds a career high ranking of WTA World No3.
Valerie Camillo – Chair of the WTA, oversees both the WTA Tour and WTA Ventures
Portia Archer – CEO of WTA Tour
Player class representatives
Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sakkari, Katie Volynets, Anja Vreg
Tournament representatives
Laura Ceccarelli – Chief operating officer and co-tournament director at APG, representing WTA 500 tournaments including the Ningbo Open and the Singapore Open, and representing the Asia-Pacific region on the WTA Tournament Council.
Alastair Garland – Managing director of Octagon Tennis and tournament board representative on the WTA board of directors.
Bob Moran – President of Beemok Sports & Entertainment and WTA board alternate, representing the Americas region on the WTA Tournament Council and overseeing WTA 1000 and 500 events including the Cincinnati Open and the Credit One Charleston Open.
WTA Tour representatives
David Highhill – Head of strategy at the WTA Tour
Ashley Keber – Senior VP of member relations at the WTA Tour
Joan Pennello – Senior VP of tour operations at the WTA Tour
