Dominika Cibulkova to play fewer tournaments in 2018

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  • Dominika Cibulkova plans on playing a fewer number of tournaments in 2018 to protect her body, the Slovakian ex-world No. 4 has revealed.

    The 28-year-old Cibulkova has made adjustments to her training and has tweaked her schedule for next year, to avoid overplaying and injuries.

    “It’s something we’re going to do this year. Even I’m skipping Brisbane and I’m just going to play Sydney and Melbourne in Australia,” Cibulkova told Sport360 during her preseason training in Dubai.

    “I’m planning to play just a maximum of 18 tournaments. Last year I played 23 or 24 so it’s going to be a big difference for me and if I will do well then I’ll just play like 15 tournaments. So let’s see what 2018 is going to bring.”

    Cibulkova had ended 2016 on a high note, winning her biggest title to date at the WTA Finals in Singapore but she had a tricky 2017 that saw her slip to No. 26 in the rankings.

    After winning four titles from seven finals reached last year, she made just one final in 2017 – in New Haven – and struggled with some physical problems including thigh, shoulder and wrist injuries.

    Cibulkova is hardly the oldest player on tour but she has already been on tour for 14 years. The 2014 Australian Open runner-up says she has adapted her preseason training as she got older.

    “Yes of course it changed. It’s not the same as I was 20 when I could practice like a horse, as we say in Slovakia, and it was all good. Now I have to pay attention really more to my body, and more to be ready and be fit for the next practice and to be physically and mentally in the mood. Like ‘okay, let’s go practice, I want to practice more and more’. Because when I feel like there’s no energy it’s no energy for training,” she explains.

    “We train a bit different. We take care of my body and the practices, we check my heart rate and everything, so it’s really kind of a good work.”

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