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EddietheEagle


County player

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RE: Making Tennis a fairer sport
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Point taken, Emma. I think Indiana was acting with politeness and discretion on such a family-friendly forum. However, as the WTA tour pulls in I don't know how many millions from its sponsors and sale of TV rights, I don't think it's really all that difficult 'going there' as far as this particular argument goes. The world's best players (presumably men) are simply not suffering, as the above suggests they are, from money being sucked out of 'the game' (presumably implying the men's game) by women's tennis. The OP is really tilting at windmills here.

I also find it hard to reconcile the basic proposition that tennis is somehow 'unfair' when the sport itself is imbued with the concept of fairness. It lies at the heart of the sport and partly explains why we are so drawn to it. There is a particular difficulty with emerging pros and the struggle they face in earning sufficiently to finance themselves. However, that's a problem which presumably applies as equally to women's tennis as it does to men's. It's also an acknowledged problem which the tours themselves and the ITF already recognise and are having to contend with. I don't see where else unfairness comes into it other than gripes about the LTA and how it disposes its money.



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The Optimist


ATP qualifying

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steven wrote:

I changed the long, solid line near the bottom of the first post to "--------------------------" - that has sorted out the post width problem for me, so hopefully it has done the same for everyone else too.

As for the content, I certainly agree that after players have travelled a long way to a tournament, it seems a terrible waste that they can draw one of the top seeds and be almost certain to get to play just one short match.

I also don't know why round robins/leagues can't work in tennis when they work in so many other sports (not without any problems, obviously, but on balance they work), but when they did trial round robins in ATP 250s, the players seemed to hate them and to be determined to make sure they didn't work, so what can you do? Maybe it's just because the 'lose and go home' thing is so ingrained in tennis or maybe it's because tennis takes such a toll on the body that players don't actually want to play more matches than they absolutely have to. I wonder if that is as true at the lower levels as it is at ATP level though - surely it must be demoralising to fly somewhere and end up playing just one short match then either have to go home (maybe after playing doubles too) or wait around for the following week's event there if there is one.

 The problem with round robin draws is that they make the tournament more expensive to put on and, as we know, events at the lower levels don't necessarily make much income as it is.  As there are more matches, an event needs more courts and more officials for more days.  I don't think the players themselves would have an issue at the lower levels if it gave them greater chances to earn points.

IMO the lower level tournaments are designed solely to be a means for those heading towards ATP and WTA tours to refine their craft and gain matches against increasingly more difficult opponents before a career on the main tour.  Those reaching SF stage and beyond of futures should at least cover their costs, in challengers more so (hopefully this may be about to happen).  Those heading for the main tours tend to move through the futures level very quickly (there are exceptions I know) and reasonably quickly through the challengers.  Players being knocked out in the 1st or 2nd week of futures for any length of time are either starting pro tennis before they are ready or just don't have what it takes to reach the main tour.  I fail to see what benefit there is to the main tours of re-organising the sport to improve life for the also-rans, beyond making sure that those moving quickly don't run out of cash before they reach the main tour.

I'm not intending to denigrate our many players in the lower levels, I enjoy every success that they have and hope another Liam suddenly comes through from their ranks but pro tennis as a career is about the main tours and an effective feeder system into it.  Otherwise it is a chance to try and prove yourself, travel and enjoy a period doing what you love each day instead of the humdrum life most of us lead in the world of work.

 



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