The attrition rate among the tennis elite, not two months into the season is growing – at a time when players should be feeling fresh and ready for months of competition.
So, is it further evidence that the tennis season needs to be shortened? And if so, perhaps the cream of the world’s tennis players would be better off beginning the chorus of complaint that they’re still playing tennis in November in the first couple of months of the year, rather than waiting until the autumn tournaments begin?
Maybe, though, it’s not the length of the season that’s resulting in a spate of injuries to the top players, but rather the heavy workloads they undertake once competition begins for the New Year in January.
It could be too, that sports people get injured. It’s just part and parcel of the job. After all, the women’s tour has adjusted its timetable, and the WTA Tour Championships are now held about a month before the men close their season, but the injury toll is already mounting.
The Dubai Tennis Championships this week is a case in point. Elena Dementieva, champion at the Paris [Indoors] last week was forced to retire from her second-round match at this tournament with a right-shoulder injury. Then there was the second-round walkover which saw second seed Svetlana Kuznetsova move through to the third round without hitting a ball (the top eight seeds received a first round bye) after Anabel Medina-Garrigues withdrew from their match with a lower-back injury.
World No. 7 Dementieva already has two titles under her belt for 2010, which equates to two solid weeks of competitive tennis. The Russian did, however, have more time on her hands than she would have liked during the Australian Open fortnight, after losing to Justine Henin in the second round of the tournament.
After Paris though, it was very much a case of Dementieva walking off court, packing the silverware in her bags and getting on a plane to Dubai to play within about 48 hours. The tight turnaround between tournaments is further highlighted by the fact that Lucie Safarova, runner-up to Dementieva in Paris, missed the Dubai tournament due to flight problems.
Players do have the opportunity to manage their own workloads, although there are some compulsory tournaments (depending on their rankings) spread throughout the year, but in Dementieva’s case, might she have been a victim of her own success?
Don’t forget either the two notable absences from the action in Dubai. World No. 1 Serena Williams sat this one out to recover from the leg troubles that she carried to the Australian Open title – the heavy strapping on her legs at Melbourne Park was testament to her fitness there.
Then there’s the luckless Dinara Safina. The world No. 2 fought back from a back injury to compete at the year’s first Grand Slam, only to have the injury recur mid-tournament and prematurely end her chances. So it’s back on the long road to recovery for the Russian, who might have played through the pain to her longer-term detriment in the latter stages of 2009 as she sought the title of year-end No. 1.
Another who didn’t take to the tennis courts in the middle of the desert is Ana Ivanovic. The Serb has complained of constant niggling injuries over the last 12 months or so, and this time it’s shoulder tendonitis that’s kept her out of competition. Estimated return: Indian Wells on March 10th.
And we haven’t even discussed the men. Two of the top five are recovering from injuries: Rafael Nadal from a knee injury he picked up at the Australian Open, thankfully not a recurrence of knee tendonitis; and Juan Martin del Potro is set to sit on the sidelines for a couple of months with wrist tendonitis.
Whether this growing list of ailments is due to the long season, heavy workloads when the tennis year begins, or just part of being a professional sportsperson is up for debate. Whatever the case, it suddenly makes Andy Murray’s decision to withdraw from Marseille, much to the displeasure of organisers, to ensure he’s properly recovered from his runner-up performance at the Australian Open seem like it may just be a wise one indeed.
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