Tennis Mailbag: Why Holger Rune’s Injury Sparked A Schedule Debate

Hey everyone …

• Here’s nan latest Served podcast:

• Here’s Andy Roddick connected Armchair Expert:

• I’m proceeding that nan WTA is connected nan verge of awesome sponsor announcement, a well-regarded car institution to switch Hologic.

• I had nan bully luck of interviewing erstwhile U.S. Open tourney head Stacey Allaster onstage astatine nan Columbia University Sports Management Conference past week. There was a batch of contented and awesome tidbits for tennis fans, including this: The U.S. Open was amazed by President Donald Trump’s visit to nan tournament. (Note to sponsors: It would beryllium awesome to support nan partner apprised of visits from salient elected officials.) The USTA did, however, person a scheme successful spot for what would hap if fans threw activity toys connected nan court, arsenic is (was?) nan rage successful different sports.

Onward …

Let’s commencement connected a sad note. It was shaping up arsenic a emblematic autumn tennis week pinch immoderate far-flung tournaments, withdrawals and picnic posts to societal media. There was a comically well-paying accumulation successful Saudi Arabia wherever Jannik Sinner made much money for beating Carlos Alcaraz successful a best-of-three capacity than he did for beating Alcaraz to triumph Wimbledon.

Then, Holger Rune tore his Achilles tendon. First, each sympathy to Rune. Never mind that, per his ain societal media post, he is improbable to play again until 2027. Any injured jock will show you that nan worst portion of getting injured is not nan beingness symptom (or financial deed successful an individual sport) but nan affectional and existential trauma. Here’s a 22-year-old whose full profession trajectory—his life even?—has abruptly changed dramatically. Send him your champion wishes. Be benignant to him connected societal media.

Inevitably, this led to a chat astir nan ATP schedule and nan untenable demands put connected players, nan beingness grind of tennis successful 2025 and nan nonaccomplishment of nan tours to return meaningful action—heaps of in installments to Taylor Fritz for engaging pinch a instrumentality and laying retired nan specifics.

Correlation is not causation. It’s intolerable to tie a nonstop statement from nan ATP’s risible schedule to Rune’s injury. However, communal consciousness mixed with data suggests that players are paying a value for an 11-month schedule, nan ball-surface mix-and-match and a reluctance to alteration format, contempt a changing level of physicality and technology. 

At immoderate point, cognition becomes reality. Both tours request to beryllium alert that immoderate injuries will beryllium reflexively attributed to an unwillingness to set nan schedule successful a meaningful way.

In a related point, we request much data. Information astir surfaces, really drawstring exertion affects nan assemblage and nan impacts of rally magnitude request to beryllium examined. If anyone is willing successful a investigation project, I’d emotion to spot a study correlating beingness wounded and unwellness pinch travel. Anyone who spends important clip connected nan roadworthy knows nan rigors connected nan body, discuss to nan immune strategy and nan slumber challenges that travel pinch it. Fly backstage and enactment astatine five-star hotels? It doesn’t matter much. As tennis players pinball crossed continents and clip zones (in a measurement their forebears ne'er did), I wonderment astir nan effect of this variable.

Jon is it maine aliases is nan section getting younger? You person Alcaraz and Sinner. You person Coco [Gauff] and [Iga] Świątek and moreover [Aryna] Sabalenka is only 27? Where are nan thirtysomethings?

Renee

• Funny, I was penning astir this very taxable and speaking pinch immoderate coaches. My take: It’s much astir nan renaissance of nan kids and twentysomethings than nan diminution of nan aged folk. But present are my 5 best-informed theories: 

1) Training has adjusted for nan realities of nan modern pro game. There was erstwhile a reasoning that nan athletics had gotten truthful unrelentingly beingness that only afloat mature bodies could grip nan grind. Rafael Nadal, Stan Wawrinka, Novak Djokovic aliases moreover Márton Fucsovics were ne'er going to suffer to immoderate kid who looked for illustration he conscionable walked retired of algebra class. Now? Teens are building spot and conditioning astatine an earlier age, spending much clip successful nan gym and little clip connected nan court.

2) The absence of Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Nadal, and Serena, and nan diminution of Djokovic, Venus, and Wawrinka person changed nan math. When players successful their 30s clasp much than 100 awesome titles, nan athletics will so look older. When they commencement retiring, inevitably, nan mean property astatine nan apical will decline.

3) The pathways to nan pros make it easier to execute nan transition. With pro and inferior events held astatine nan aforesaid sites, much chaotic cards going to kids and $75,000 events unfastened to teens, nan jump becomes easier.

4) One of nan awesome challenges to young players is (or astatine slightest was) nan world quality of tennis—not conscionable nan expenses, but nan intelligence toll of each nan displacement. Now you person federations (think Canada pinch regards to Victoria Mboko) intentionally taking players each complete nan world, mounting up training blocks overseas, and moreover supplying them pinch world coaches. Suddenly, a young personification turns pro, and pitchy lag and clip differences are nary longer obstacles to success.

5) Note that nan inclination is happening astatine a clip erstwhile much players are picking nan assemblage route. You mightiness deliberation that would hold a pro profession (and would, counterintuitively, militate successful favour of older players), but location are assemblage players for illustration Peyton Stearns, Learner Tien aliases Ben Shelton who didn’t walk 4 years connected campus. They play for a twelvemonth aliases two, winning a ton of matches, learning really to woody pinch dispute crowds and turning pro pinch affectional maturity, but they’re still only 19 aliases 20.

Ben Shelton competed astatine nan University of Florida earlier turning pro. / Mike Frey-Imagn Images

We sewage a batch of chatter astir Peng Shuai and our file past week. Strip distant nan trolls and nan loudest 5% connected nan fringes and margins, and you are near pinch 90% of tennis fans who tin person a reasonable and reasoned chat astir a analyzable rumor and group of facts.

• I still support that we should each beryllium profoundly uncomfortable that nan whereabouts of a once-prominent subordinate has fundamentally been reduced to a dim rumor, that censorship seems to person prevailed complete freedom, that a circuit that took specified a patient and opinionated stance—i.e. it could not do business successful a spot that acted truthful inconsistently pinch its morals and values—reversed people truthful quickly and comprehensively.

The counterargument is wholly valid. The WTA, ultimately, is simply a business. No business operates successful perfect conditions; location are ever civilized compromises and unpleasantries. As 1 erstwhile WTA subordinate texted maine past week: “What are we expected to do? Not play [China] and watch nan circuit wholly autumn isolated financially. What bully does that do?” 

It would person been preferable if location had been a imaginative solution aliases strategy, 1 that didn’t destruct nan WTA financially but besides didn’t discuss its credibility. It would person been preferable if different businesses and leagues (starting pinch nan ATP) joined nan march. It would person been preferable if nan marketplace had rewarded nan WTA’s courageousness of condemnation and a sponsor had emerged to stanch nan China losses.

Back successful nan existent world, nan WTA had a reliable manus to play. Even heavy wrong nan WTA, location was a debate. To some, this was an embarrassment, eroding credibility. To others, it was nan only financially responsible decision. 

Lost successful each this: The subordinate astatine nan halfway of it has, astatine a minimum, go a cipher, absent from nan discussion, and, it seems, absent from nationalist life. 

RE Peng Shuai, bully for you. Well done.

RE [Valentin] Vacherot: Another constituent that, frankly, I’ve not heard expressed: really overmuch does this opportunity astir nan level of tennis being played astatine nan Challenger and Qualies level? I fishy it says a bully bit, but Vacherot’s won/loss going forwards will show america whether that “good bit” tells us, successful fact, a lot, aliases that it’s an “on immoderate fixed day” point and not more.

Skip Schwarzman
Philly, wherever bully things happen

• Good things do so hap successful Philly. (In summation to nan pretzels and murals, it’s wherever I met my wife.)

Anyway, wherever were we? Oh, correct … Vacherot. Yes, it will beryllium absorbing to spot wherever he goes from here.* Was this lightning successful a bottle? Has greatness been unlocked, à la Pat Rafter successful nan mid-90s? Or is this an Aslan Karatsev situation, wherever there’s a breakthrough, a sustained play of top-50 ball, past a retreat—that is, not a fluke, but not a early awesome winner.

You’re right, though. What a validation of nan level of nan Challenger/qualies. This player’s ranking disqualified him from nan U.S. Open qualies. Less than 2 months later, he hit Djokovic en way to a Masters 1000 title, 1000 points and $1.1 million. It gives a renewed appreciation for nan level of tennis played by those—male and female—with triple-digit rankings. It’s hardened into a tennis cliché, but nan margins genuinely are that thin.

*I dislike to constitute this because she is a) lovely, b) still a teen and c) mightiness still beryllium smarting from a wrist injury. But successful nan tone of “fair and balanced,” are we not duty-bound to statement that since her stunning triumph successful Canada, Mboko has gone 0–4 and has dropped 8 consecutive sets?

So past nighttime (Oct. 13) Jeopardy had a class connected tennis backhands. One of nan questions (answers?) astir lobs asked, essentially, what is nan other of topspin? Naturally I shouted retired “backspin,” but Ken Jennings assured America that nan reply was “underspin.” I've been watching tennis for complete 40 years and ne'er heard nan word “underspin.” Before I constitute an indignant email to whichever intern monitors nan Jeopardy email address, tin you corroborate that I americium so successful nan right? 

P.R.

• I’m pinch you, aliases simply flat. I conscionable saw this thread dedicated to chat astir nan episode.

Jon, why are you not penning astir Conchita Martínez and nan Hall of Fame? She won a major, won an Olympic badge and has now been a apical coach for galore years.

[Name withheld]

• I americium not penning astir Conchita Martínez’s absence from nan Hall of Fame because Conchita Martínez is IN nan Hall of Fame. As she should be. Perhaps because of nan COVID-19 lockdown, her induction whitethorn person gotten a spot mislaid successful nan mist.

To beryllium clear, she was inducted connected nan ground of her playing, but nan thought of a combo nickname is nan taxable of our scholar riff ...

Bret Corbridge, return america retired …

(And do truthful knowing that I americium wholly connected board. This is for illustration a player-contributor combo, nan aforesaid rubric nether which I would springiness a motion to Juan Carlos Ferrero, Brad Gilbert, etc.)

Jon,
Hall of Fame time, truthful erstwhile AGAIN, my yearly “pleading nan cause” for Vitas Gerulaitis. I cognize he ne'er achieved nan No. 1 ranking (No. 3). He played successful 3 slam finals, winning successful Australia, erstwhile nan “prestige” of winning successful Australia is [not] rather what it is coming ... but a triumph nonetheless. With Sandy Mayer, he won Wimbledon doubles. He won nan WCT Championships. He won 25 different apical level tournaments.

Many of his regular competitors he had to compete against are successful nan HOF ... and he was competitory pinch them. He has wins complete Arthur Ashe, Tony Roche, John Newcombe, Ilie Năstase, Guillermo Vilas (on clay successful Rome!), John McEnroe, Mats Wilander, Ivan Lendl, Jimmy Connors (after losing 16 successful a row). Ironically, I deliberation Bjorn Borg did hit Vitas 17 times successful a row, and aft that awesome achievement, Bjorn retired! (Kidding.) Maybe not noteworthy regarding induction qualifications, but Vitas was respected and liked by these men.

And I dream different of his contemporaries, Mary Carillo, gets successful this year. I cognize Vitas was “honored” pinch nan Eugene Scott Award for his “impact” connected nan crippled of tennis. To me, he deserves much nickname arsenic a player. Not nan immensely stellar playing profession of McEnroe, Connors, Borg, but they sewage successful nan HOF easily. There are galore one-slam winners successful nan HOF—not saying they should not be—but if they are in, why not Vitas (why not Vitas, why not Vitas, why not Vitas)? Goran Ivanišević, Yannick Noah ... moreover Michael Chang and Andy Roddick. I deliberation Vitas’s tennis grounds compares favorably to these men (I deliberation Roddick is nan only 1 of them that sewage to No. 1).

Why not Vitas, why not Vitas, why not Vitas? Don’t cognize if my “campaigning” was influential aliases not, but moreover nan Doobie Brothers made nan Hall of Fame!!!

Next up ... Thomas Muster ...

As always, I bask reference your thoughts.

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