A rampant, out-of-control schedule and minimal low season have put tennis gamers getting ready to burnout, with one tour veteran questioning why many would play for greater than a handful of years.
Gamers on the Brisbane Worldwide, chief amongst them Jordan Thompson and Nick Kyrgios, attacked the tour over the paltry low season, with each Aussies describing the schedule as “a joke”.
The lifetime of an expert tennis participant is undoubtedly a tricky one.
It is simple to be blinded by the big prize funds and the glamour of a jet-setting life, as a result of the truth is that tennis gamers need to toil like no different athletes on the earth.
“The tour is ridiculous in comparison with another sport,” Nick Kyrgios mentioned throughout the Brisbane Worldwide.
“It is a robust sport. Particularly if you happen to’re from Australia, you do not see your loved ones or mates for six, seven, eight months if you happen to’re enjoying a full schedule.”
Nick Kyrgios says there isn’t any tougher tour on earth than the ATP Tour. (Getty Photographs: Chris Hyde)
His Australian teammate Jordan Thompson mentioned the size of the tennis low season was “a joke”.
Even Novak Djokovic famous that his schedule, at this stage of his profession, was fastidiously curated to solely characteristic the most important occasions, and that he was tremendously benefiting from having his household in Australia for the primary time.
“It permits me to, to begin with, not really feel the guilt that I am so distant for such a very long time,” he mentioned of getting spouse Jelena and children Stefan and Tara with him in Australia for the primary time in his profession.
“I have been feeling that, I have to admit, once I would journey to Australia within the earlier years, I’d be away for no matter, 4, 5 weeks.
“Each time you must separate along with your children and your spouse, there’s loads of tears concerned.
“It isn’t straightforward. Then you definitely begin to query your self, why do I’ve to do it again and again?”
A participant of Djokovic’s stature has totally different considerations to others.
Life on the ATP Tour is tough work. (Getty Photographs: Chris Hyde)
Final season, he performed simply 44 matches at 12 tournaments — the bottom variety of matches he has performed in a yr since he was a fledgling neo-pro in 2005, apart from the 2017 season, which he ended 4 months early resulting from an elbow damage.
No matter who you’re, although, the season is getting longer and longer, with a shorter break between one marketing campaign and the following.
French writer and journalist Bastien Fachan famous the hole between the final level of the NextGen ATP finals in Jeddah and the primary of the United Cup in Perth was simply 4 days, 7 hours and 31 minutes.
That is a really, very quick interval of R and R.
“It is a joke, our low season,” Thompson mentioned, previous to his first match of the season in Brisbane.
“We’re beginning the ’25 season in ’24. It is a joke.
“I’d say we each had loads of day off, however we have not. It is only a bizarre feeling enjoying this early.
“Looks like [we’ve had] 2 seconds [downtime].
“It is a difficult one, particularly for us Aussies. We virtually depart after the Australian Open and we do not come again till Davis Cup is completed. The season’s that lengthy.
“We come again on the finish of November, we’re away for 10, 11 months. It appears like actually we get three weeks off if you happen to play Davis Cup. That is nice.
Jordan Thompson criticises the period of the low season. (Getty Photographs: ATP Photographs/Vicente Vidal Fernández)
“Then you definitely obtained them pushing for an earlier begin. I do not know the way the ’25 season begins in ’24. I imply, it is a joke. We must be enjoying subsequent week.
“There’s loads of issues in our sport that want a little bit of cleansing up for the time being.”
Thompson is an enchanting instance, and common.
The 30-year-old Sydneysider performed 63 tour-level matches within the 2024 season at 25 totally different tournaments.
That accounts for a whopping 81,146km value of journey — greater than two instances around the globe — assuming he did nothing aside from journey between tournaments, that’s.
No marvel he is a bit drained by the entire thing.
Alexander Zverev, by the way, performed a rare 88 matches in 2024, probably the most of any participant within the prime 10.
“It is absurd, actually, the quantity of journey we do,” Kyrgios famous.
“You have a look at guys like [Daniil] Medvedev in the direction of the tip of final season, returning with the opposite facet of his racquet.
Daniil Medvedev started performing the idiot within the ATP Finals, as gamers began to “lose their thoughts a bit bit”. (Getty Photographs: Tullio Puglia)
“You have obtained guys like that which are beginning to lose their thoughts a bit bit as a result of the season is simply too lengthy — and he is super-disciplined.
“The season is simply manner too lengthy. I am positive everybody can agree with that one.”
Tennis is undoubtedly one thing of a relentless slog for the gamers.
It should really feel that they’re all the time both on a observe courtroom, sitting in a airplane or at an airport, travelling to the following match.
The explanation for that is right down to the way in which tennis rankings work.
Gamers earn factors on a rolling foundation throughout the yr. The additional you get in a match, the extra factors you get and the larger the match, the extra rating factors on supply.
For instance, on the Brisbane Worldwide, an ATP250 match for the lads, 250 rating factors can be found to the winner, whereas the ladies’s match is a WTA500, that means 500 factors are on supply to the winner.
The Australian Open, as a grand slam, gives 2,000 factors to the winner.
Nevertheless, as soon as the calendar yr is over and that match rolls round once more, these factors that had been received the earlier yr drop off — it is why gamers speak about defending their rating factors.
A participant’s place within the rankings is what will get them entry into tournaments.
As such, the tour is a continuing conveyor belt, the place standing nonetheless means factors that might be up for grabs are left on the desk.
Gamers need to preserve enjoying as many tournaments as they’ll to be able to get the factors wanted to keep up their place within the rankings, which will get them invited to the larger tournaments, the place they’ll get extra rankings factors, and many others, and many others, and many others.
“Fairly used to that with tennis: fast turnarounds,” Australian Kim Birrell mentioned following her quarterfinal exit in Brisbane.
Kim Birrell mentioned she wanted new legs throughout the second set of the gruelling match. (AAP: Darren England)
“You are enjoying and dropping sooner or later, then need to refocus to compete once more the following.
“It’s robust. It is also what I really like about tennis: every week is a brand new alternative.”
The scramble for rating factors by no means ends.
American Ashlyn Krueger, who performed on the Brisbane Worldwide on Friday afternoon, was in motion in Adelaide the next day.
Marie Bouzková performed on Pat Rafter Enviornment on Friday night time and was again on courtroom in Adelaide by 2:00pm Saturday afternoon in opposition to Australia’s Gabriella Da Silva Fick.
Brisbane Worldwide finalist Polina Kudermetova flew to Melbourne instantly after the ultimate to play within the qualifiers.
Polina Kudermetova went straight from the Brisbane Worldwide closing to Australian Open qualifiers. (AP Picture: Pat Hoelscher)
All of it performs into burnout and repeated accidents — and there’s a concern that it may worsen.
“The schedule’s f***ing a catastrophe now, for everybody, actually,” seven-time main winner and Tour veteran Jamie Murray advised ABC Sport.
“You are away from house a lot now with all these prolonged occasions, so many extra days on the highway.
“It isn’t straightforward for all of the gamers and I believe that is one thing that the Tour has to contemplate, longevity of those guys.
Jamie Murray, a 19-year Tour veteran, says there’s a likelihood gamers will flip away from the calls for of the ATP Tour. (Getty Photographs: PA Photographs/John Walton)
“They’re making a lot cash, on the tour, [grand] slams, exhibitions as of late.
“With look charges, it is loopy how a lot, like, Carlos [Alcaraz, career earnings of $37.8 million], Yannik [Sinner, $37.2 million], Novak’s clearly made [a lot, $185.5 million] however over a for much longer time.
“However my concern is that these guys, in 4 or 5 years, they have tons of of thousands and thousands within the financial institution and so they’re like, ‘Why am I enjoying tennis? Why am I on the highway like 250, 300 days a yr?
“‘I do not want to do this, it is killing my physique, I by no means see my household, I do not want to do this anymore, so I am simply gonna stroll away’.
“Whether or not that occurs or not is a special story, but it surely’s a chance in my eyes.”
Satirically, some gamers have mentioned that prize cash must be greater for gamers in tennis.
“The pie cut up between the governing our bodies [and players] in all main American sports activities, like NFL, NBA, baseball, NHL, is 50 per cent, possibly extra, some much less, however round 50 per cent. Ours is manner decrease than that,” Djokovic mentioned throughout the Brisbane Worldwide.
“There’s so many alternative layers of the prize cash that you must look into. It isn’t that straightforward,” he added.
