Are the new changes in tennis good or bad??

Question

Tennis is undergoing many different changes. They're making it mandatory for top players to play all the important events, and with new rules, players will face possible suspensions.

I find this decision really stupid, because they've already shortened the schedule for a longer offseason. This means players will have to play a lot of tennis in a shorter period of time. This could lead to a lot more injuries for top players, which will cause major tournaments to suffer.

Not only that, but suspending players for missing tournaments is absolutely stupid. The players should have a choice of the bigger tournaments they choose to play. It seems that right is being taken from them. I think the ATP & WTA cares more about making money than tending to the real needs of the players. Keep in mind, the players have to play long matches, then travel a far distance to play even more. They become mentally and physically worn out.

What's your take on this?

Answer 1

I agree that the decision is wrong. However, to some extent such rules have been in place since 1990. Top male players have to count Masters events toward their rankings - essentially forcing them to participate in the nine (in addition to the four grand slams). The results have already taken their toll - Federer and Nadal have passed up on the last Masters event at Paris for the last few years, and Federer frequently missed out on the Hamburg event as it was scheduled immediately after the Rome Masters.

According to the new rules, players will be allowed to miss on one of the eight mandatory 1000 series events if they can prove they are injured and unable to play. One result is that a player like Federer will play ONLY in the eight mandatory events and the grand slams (perhaps Monte Carlo as well, as it is high on points). For tennis fans in other cities, it means sticking to watching top players on television.

Overall, I'm not in favor of this, but the ATP (and the players) are going to make a lot of money out of this new set up.

Answer 2

***Tennis is undergoing many different changes. They're making it mandatory for top players to play all the important events, and with new rules, players will face possible suspensions. ***

With all due respect, this is not new. The designation of ATP Commitment Players [top-30] has been around for a number of years.

It's true, some events are mandatory for the top players, but that's what they signed up for when they became professionals. It's their job. How would you feel if your [teacher, doctor, plumber, etc] said, "Hmm, I don't want to work today. Maybe next week sometime."

If a player gets injured, he/she can communicate that with the tour and get an exemption from playing as many events as needed to recover.

I suggest spending some time reading the ATP Rules Book below. It might take a couple of weeks, but at least you'll understand a lot more about how things work :-)

Answer 3

I think you've said it all. I've had that same opinion for a couple years now and it's shared with the players that I've spoken to about it. The hike in injuries over the last couple years is quite evident yet the ATP & WTA seem oblivious to it.

Logically, this forces a more prudent player to skip a few and bear the fine. Which points toward a profit center (or at least a revenue center) for the governing organizations. I got no problem with profits...I DO have a problem with profits at the expense of the health of the people who are the profit streams! Seems like a short term, self-defeating business strategy to me. That's like killing the golden goose.

Now here's the fly in the ointment that I can't quite figure out. Everything I just laid out seems logical and quite openly apparent even to the casual tennis fan much less the watchdogs and attorneys for the sport and players. So why isn't anything being done about it? You'd think that SOMEBODY at these organizations would think, "hmm, something's awry here."

It makes me wonder if there's something I'm missing. The players complain about the schedule, the fans hurt for the players and everybody and their brother can see this yet the ATP and WTA do little to nothing and instead impose fines. It makes me think that there's something else going on that we, the fans, don't see. I hate to sound all "conspiracy theory" but it is quite strange.

POSSIBLE SOLUTION:
I personally think that an idea with merit would be to have the players "declare" the tournaments they'll play for the upcoming year (with the Slams being mandatory). Require that all players play at least once on every surface within the Masters series and then let the players pick and choose the rest.

If Nadal wants to load up on clay, let him. If Roddick wants to load up on hard court let him. It then becomes a "self-correcting" system. If Nadal can't grab enough points on clay, he can CHOOSE to add more grass or hard court. If Djokovic wants more prep time on hard court by trading a grass tourney, then fine. If the WTA and the ATP want to profit, then administer fees for switching tourney's mid-year but don't force the players into injuries just for the money. Eventually, the players will begin to balance their schedules and do it at the beginning of the year.

A perfect example is Roger Federer. Everyone talks about his game being so graceful but they miss that his tournament schedule is already set until the end of 2008! The man's career will be extended for good planning much more than for his graceful play!

Great question!

Answer 4

I think it's going to cause more problems, not necessarily from the injury standpoint but from the legal standpoint. The Williams Sisters had already sued one of the tournaments over an issue like this. I think there may be more of this to come.

Answer 5

tennis good bad

Answer 6

I think the decisions are good.
Tennis has changed a lot over the years and some of the changes that they made were improved and smart.

Answer 7

they will just feign injury if they dont want to play in a tournament

all the best
Ian