Doha  - The WTA has made a partial nod to player pressure, agreeing to institute byes at two events due to special circumstances.

After player complaints about a crowded calendar and massive on-court workload for top stars, the sanctioning body announced that the May Madrid event would award four first-round byes to semi-finalist from the weekend before in Rome.

The same will apply to Beijing in October, which follows another big date in Tokyo.

"There were several concerns expressed by our top players," said WTA boss Larry Scott.

"There is a concern that there wasn't enough break between some of our big tournaments, which were back-to-back. Rome is a 56-draw tournament followed by Madrid which is a 64-draw tournament (starting) Saturday.

"In the autumn, Tokyo is a 56-draw tournament followed by Beijing, which is a 64-draw. Players were concerned it was too many matches in too few days." (dpa)