The fact that there are tournaments every week limits players' time off and leads to fatigue and more injuries. U.S. Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro pulled out of the Davidoff Swiss Indoors event with a wrist injury last week. Novak Djokovic defeated Roger Federer in the final, and afterward, he said that a meeting needs to be set up to talk about shortening the season.
This has been a topic of interest for a long time, but with so many tournaments counting on top players to participate, there is not much room for time off.
A shorter season would mean canceling tournaments — and that means less money and exposure for the sport. It is unlikely the ATP would consider a shorter season, but with injuries piling up at year’s end, they may have to reconsider.
Right now, there is about a month between the ATP Finals in London on Nov. 22 and the Australian Open in January. Djokovic has called for at least two months off at the end of the year.
This change needs to be made at some point. Players need to be protected from injury by being given the time off that they need. There are too many tournaments and too many commitments during the season for them to have only one month off at the end of the year.
Many injuries occur during the summer hardcourt swing in the United States leading up to the U.S. Open. Rafael Nadal had to miss many of these tournaments with recurring knee injuries that kept him from defending his Wimbledon title.
The hardcourts are the surface that wears down players the most. After a four-month swing on clay and grass — much more forgiving surfaces — injuries start to mount when the hardcourt season comes in July because it is such a brutal surface. Hard courts are much tougher on the body and cause joints and muscles to wear down faster.
The ATP should consider another break during the middle of the season where players can recuperate and prepare for the hard courts. Even though there is not a designated break, many top players choose to take tournaments off. Federer typically chooses to start his summer hardcourt season late by skipping a few events after Wimbledon. When top players skip tournaments, attendance goes down.
The ATP can still keep its season the way it is by just making a few minor changes to the schedule. Certain tournaments need to be phased out in order to keep players fit. If players are not fit, the level of competition will start to deteriorate.
And that is when the game will truly suffer.
