In tennis, there are tournaments every week. If a player does well in one week and reaches the later stages of the tournament, they have to quickly move on to the next tournament. To help players rest and perform their best, the WTA introduced something called a “Performance Bye.”

A Performance Bye is not like a regular bye because it’s based on how well a player did in the previous week, not their ranking. The regular byes usually go to the top 4 seeded players in the tournament, depending on how many players are in the draw.

Some top players are worried that the Performance Bye isn’t fair. It might not help players who have been doing well all year. For example, a player could do really well in a less important tournament and still get a bye in a bigger tournament. However, a few players like Iga Swiatek support the Performance Bye rule because it gives players a chance to rest and avoid getting hurt.

Performance bye is a rule change the WTA is trying this year. The WTA could change the rule depending on the feedback it receives from players.