04/19/24
October 12, 2009
Nadal and Roddick speak out against the 11 month tennis season.: After injuries force Nadal, Roddick, Federer and Andy Murray out this season, some of the top players are outwardly expressing their distaste for a lack of offseason. "It's ridiculous to think that you have a professional sport that doesn't have a legitimate off-season to rest, get healthy, and then train," Roddick said. "I just feel sooner or later that common sense has to prevail."
Be like the Williams sisters - don't play so much. They have obvious scorn for the rankings system. That may only work for the top tier players. Lower ranked or unranked players may feel the need to play as much as possible to break into the ranks or move up the ranks.
posted by kokaku at 03:56 PM on October 12, 2009
They rarely play competitive matches more frequently than twice a week, true, but tennis players don't have to recover from sliding tackles, banging shoulder to shoulder in the box and such.
Most tennis injuries are repetitive stress ones; ligaments, knees and elbows that are constantly stopping and starting and performing unnatural functions 11 months a year. There is the argument that they could simply stop caring about their world ranking and play less, however it's hard to get to such a level and not want to be #1.
posted by dfleming at 04:42 PM on October 12, 2009
Most tennis injuries are repetitive stress ones; ligaments, knees and elbows that are constantly stopping and starting and performing unnatural functions 11 months a year.
Yea, those are my thoughts. Soccer ain't easy, but neither are all those sudden stops on the hardcourt surfaces. To be a top-flight player, you need need the ability to run full speed and stop on a dime to reverse direction. That is going to take a toll on anybody's body, particularly leg joints. Also, in tennis, if you have the slightest arm injury, it can easily throw your entire game off. Unlike soccer where you have 10 compadres to help cover up an injury, singles players have no such luxury. I'm not saying soccer isn't physically taxing or anything, but rather that it's a completely different sport with a different set of physical attributes. I would be all for reducing the tennis season to 9-10 months so we can see the players at their peak come Major time instead of being injured from over exertion.
Be like the Williams sisters - don't play so much. They have obvious scorn for the rankings system. That may only work for the top tier players. Lower ranked or unranked players may feel the need to play as much as possible to break into the ranks or move up the ranks.
IMHO, that illustrates one of the problems with the current setup. Once you get outside the top 5, it becomes very much an issue who plays in the most tournaments. Back when I followed tennis more closely, top-20 players who never made it past the 3rd round weren't uncommon- they simply entered every tourney imaginable to gain points in the rankings, even if they weren't a top-20 player by skill.
posted by jmd82 at 05:29 PM on October 12, 2009
Well, I made the comparison because it also has a nearly year-round schedule, the bit about the injuries was half joking. Not like I can hit a tennis serve 100 mph after all.
posted by billsaysthis at 07:09 PM on October 12, 2009
I hear ya. I can't bend it like Beckham, either.
posted by jmd82 at 08:06 PM on October 12, 2009
More than the schedule, it just makes no sense to have the Australian Open when it is: in the height of the Australian summer. They've had all kinds of problems with excessive heat. Move it up two months, maybe shrink the US Open series a bit, nudge Wimbledon and the French up by a bit, problem solved.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 09:41 AM on October 13, 2009
I'm not totally familiar with the "labor" issues that Jack Kramer was involved with, but I do think he might be an icon to revisit in regards to this particular issue. If the players speak loud enough (i.e., get organized and act in solidarity on the issue), change should surely come, no?
posted by Spitztengle at 12:04 PM on October 13, 2009
If the players speak loud enough (i.e., get organized and act in solidarity on the issue), change should surely come, no?
Good question. I think one advantage other sports might have in circumstances like this is their organized teams. If the NFL strikes, well, everyone does. In Tennis, if the top 10 were to strike, then the rest can still get paid by playing in the same tournaments. It's not like you need to go "find" replacement players. They're right there, already playing tennis for a living.
posted by jmd82 at 02:54 PM on October 13, 2009
The players in the NFL are employees. This means that they have specific rights as employees under US law, including the right to organize without hindrance for the purposes of collective bargaining. Tennis professionals have no such status and no such rights. Mind you, organizing has been done in tennis before, most notably by Billie Jean King on behalf of the women pros of her time...but it's extremely difficult to do so effectively. Note also that BJ King organized women tennis professionals at a time when they had little to lose and (potentially) a lot to gain by joining in -- the same is not true today.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 07:44 PM on October 13, 2009
Top soccer players have about as long a season, European leagues run August to May and then most summers (at least two out of four) there are national team tournaments. They rarely play competitive matches more frequently than twice a week, true, but tennis players don't have to recover from sliding tackles, banging shoulder to shoulder in the box and such.