Iga Swiatek has given an update on her talks with the WTA after warning them and fearing people would “hate” her for raising concerns.

The world No. 2 has been vocal about how demanding the calendar is for players, with 20 tournaments now mandatory for those ranked high enough to enter.

She was even penalised in the ranking for failing to enter enough required events and lost her spot at the top. But Swiatek now feels more positive about the “progress” in communication from the women’s tennis tour.

This year, the WTA made it mandatory for all eligible players to compete in the four Grand Slams, all 10 WTA 1000 events and six of the WTA 500 tournaments. Those who didn’t fulfil the requirements were penalised, receiving ‘zeroes’ on their ranking.

Swiatek was one of the players who was hit with a punishment. And she lost enough ranking points that it allowed Aryna Sabalenka to overtake her as the world No. 1.

The five-time Grand Slam champion had already voiced her concerns about the packed schedule earlier this year so it’s no surprise she didn’t play all 20 mandatory events.

“Obviously it’s not our decision but for sure, I think we have too many tournaments in the season,” she told Sky Sports during the Cincinnati Open. “It’s not going to end well and it makes tennis less fun for us, let’s just say.”

Worried about upsetting others with her comments, she added: “I don’t think it should be like that because we deserve to rest a little bit more. Obviously maybe people are going to hate me for that.”

But the 23-year-old needn’t have worried, as she revealed the women’s tour had been more open to addressing players’ concerns. Swiatek is back in action at the WTA Finals after skipping the entire Asian swing when she changed her coach.

Following her two-month break, Swiatek was asked whether she felt authorities were listening. “Well, I feel like when I first came to WTA, it was pretty tricky,” she replied.

“Now I think that they are listening to us much more. I’ve seen some progress in terms of the communication.

“Yeah, some things have been decided already in terms of the calendar and mandatory tournaments. It’s something that we kind of can’t take back because this is business, this is our contract, this is money. For sure it’s not going to be easy. It depends.”

The world No. 2 stood by her decision to skip some bigger tournaments, even if it affected her ranking. And she’s hoping the players will be able to voice their feedback after the first season of having 20 mandatory events.

“I guess it’s all going to be about proper planning, making your own decisions kind of, no matter what’s going on with the rankings, mandatory tournaments sometimes. For sure for us as players, the priority should be our health in general,” she continued.

“We’ll see. For now, like, this has been first year with all these mandatory tournament obligations. Maybe at the end of the season there’s going to be a good time to give some feedback and talk about it internally with WTA.

“For now obviously we need to be ready for the season to be as long as it is. I’m sure for fans, it’s exciting. I’m going to prepare myself, as well, to be ready to play everything.”