Wimbledon wildcards 2023 - women

JonH comes home · Tennis legend

Wimbledon wildcards 2023 - women

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

JonH comes home wrote:
Lucky Dan Evans isnt up for one, imagine him trying to work in a team to build a raft!

Yeah, but it's all very well being 'team-oriented' but you do need actual skill and knowhow - more important than 'soft' skills if oyu actually need to build that raft

His dad's an electrician - maybe he's actually quite practical?

I mean Mark Whitehouse with his Imperial College Masters (and PhD?) will be doing wonderful mathematical equations but will his raft even float?

JonH comes home · Tennis legend

Coup Droit wrote:
JonH comes home wrote:
Lucky Dan Evans isnt up for one, imagine him trying to work in a team to build a raft!

Yeah, but it's all very well being 'team-oriented' but you do need actual skill and knowhow - more important than 'soft' skills if oyu actually need to build that raft
His dad's an electrician - maybe he's actually quite practical?

I mean Mark Whitehouse with his Imperial College Masters (and PhD?) will be doing wonderful mathematical equations but will his raft even float?

biggrin

-- Edited by JonH comes home on Tuesday 13th of June 2023 07:09:40 AM

Lambda · Challenger level

Women do need to apply for a LTA WC to WTA/ITF events but that's because of the limits on how many they can take, which doesn't apply to GSs. I can see that there will be a route for players to request a WC to make sure their name is on the list for the committee to consider, but I'd be surprised if the committee don't have their own shortlist to consider that will include the top Brits. Perhaps Heather feels a little vulnerable with where her ranking is and feels the need to submit a request to make her case.

foobarbaz · Strong Club Player

JonH comes home wrote:
Coup Droit wrote:
JonH comes home wrote:
Lucky Dan Evans isnt up for one, imagine him trying to work in a team to build a raft!

Yeah, but it's all very well being 'team-oriented' but you do need actual skill and knowhow - more important than 'soft' skills if oyu actually need to build that raft
His dad's an electrician - maybe he's actually quite practical?

I mean Mark Whitehouse with his Imperial College Masters (and PhD?) will be doing wonderful mathematical equations but will his raft even float?

-- Edited by JonH comes home on Tuesday 13th of June 2023 07:09:40 AM

Dan seemed to really enjoy the team competitions (Battle of the Brits, and then the United Cup in Sydney this year) and was full of support for his team.

foobarbaz · Strong Club Player

Lambda wrote:
Women do need to apply for a LTA WC to WTA/ITF events but that's because of the limits on how many they can take, which doesn't apply to GSs. I can see that there will be a route for players to request a WC to make sure their name is on the list for the committee to consider, but I'd be surprised if the committee don't have their own shortlist to consider that will include the top Brits. Perhaps Heather feels a little vulnerable with where her ranking is and feels the need to submit a request to make her case.

It might be something as simple as a notification of intent to play in the tournament, if allowed. It would be a waste of effort the committee deliberating on a player that has other plans for that week or two.

Barefoot · Lower Club Player

According to the beeb article, Heather said this about her lack of Wimbledon points -

"I feel like that after Wimbledon I went from an all-time high in my career and then not being awarded any points there really affected my tournament entries," she said.

"I couldn't get into WTA tournaments so I was playing ITFs and I was winning them all but the points are rubbish so it doesn't help my ranking at all.

I very much sympathise about the effect on her ranking, I think Ive already said that I think it should have a sway on WC allocations but its not accurate to say she was winning them all when playing on ITFI dont think she won any!

-- Edited by Barefoot on Tuesday 13th of June 2023 12:52:41 PM

foobarbaz · Strong Club Player

Not about the Wimbledon points not being awarded, but the thing I took from that was how the points award disparity between the WTA, and the ITF circuits actually holds back up and coming players, and keeps the already established players safe in their cushy WTA tour coccoon.

indiana · Tennis legend

foobarbaz wrote:
Not about the Wimbledon points not being awarded, but the thing I took from that was how the points award disparity between the WTA, and the ITF circuits actually holds back up and coming players, and keeps the already established players safe in their cushy WTA tour coccoon.

I don't see an unreasonable disparity between the higher level ITF tournaments and the WTA tournaments ( as said before I do see the progression within ITFs rather strange with the W25s out of line )

What sort of comparative awards between the WTA and ITF do you see as a problem?

foobarbaz · Strong Club Player

indiana wrote:
foobarbaz wrote:
Not about the Wimbledon points not being awarded, but the thing I took from that was how the points award disparity between the WTA, and the ITF circuits actually holds back up and coming players, and keeps the already established players safe in their cushy WTA tour coccoon.
I don't see an unreasonable disparity between the higher level ITF tournaments and the WTA tournaments ( as said before I do see the progression within ITFs rather strange with the W25s out of line )
What sort of comparative awards between the WTA and ITF do you see as a problem?

I'm just going by the second sentence in Heather's quote above, she's made the point hasn't she, though from her point of view? The players know the score better than I do.

Brendan F · Lower Club Player

indiana wrote:
foobarbaz wrote:
Not about the Wimbledon points not being awarded, but the thing I took from that was how the points award disparity between the WTA, and the ITF circuits actually holds back up and coming players, and keeps the already established players safe in their cushy WTA tour coccoon.
I don't see an unreasonable disparity between the higher level ITF tournaments and the WTA tournaments ( as said before I do see the progression within ITFs rather strange with the W25s out of line )
What sort of comparative awards between the WTA and ITF do you see as a problem?

There may not be much disparity between a WTA 250/125 and a 100k/60k but the latter are quite rare which is presumably why 25ks are still so lucrative with their points

Lambda · Challenger level

foobarbaz wrote:

Not about the Wimbledon points not being awarded, but the thing I took from that was how the points award disparity between the WTA, and the ITF circuits actually holds back up and coming players, and keeps the already established players safe in their cushy WTA tour coccoon.

Which is only going to get worse if the WTA plan to increase the number of 1000s and 500s and reduce the number of 250s goes ahead

JonH comes home · Tennis legend

foobarbaz wrote:
JonH comes home wrote:
Coup Droit wrote:
JonH comes home wrote:
Lucky Dan Evans isnt up for one, imagine him trying to work in a team to build a raft!

Yeah, but it's all very well being 'team-oriented' but you do need actual skill and knowhow - more important than 'soft' skills if oyu actually need to build that raft
His dad's an electrician - maybe he's actually quite practical?

I mean Mark Whitehouse with his Imperial College Masters (and PhD?) will be doing wonderful mathematical equations but will his raft even float?

-- Edited by JonH comes home on Tuesday 13th of June 2023 07:09:40 AM
Dan seemed to really enjoy the team competitions (Battle of the Brits, and then the United Cup in Sydney this year) and was full of support for his team.

It was all a bit of a joke, a flight of fancy , CD and I were joking around. Spirals of the mind.

foobarbaz · Strong Club Player

The thing is Heather's a good player, and can still turn it on, on occasion. However, she's not been trusted as one of the top 2, or 3 players in representing GB for maybe 3 years now. Yet, until recently, she's managed to hang around in the WTA top 100, when players who are representing GB as first and second picks are struggling to reach that level of world ranking, while all the time their careers are passing by.

People seem to like watching the same folk at the top year after year, all the talk is about how good it is for the game if someone dominates. It's good for the media companies is my view. The broadcasters don't want a state of flux with unknown players breaking through all the time, and well-known players being banished from the media coverage, just when the paying public have got to know them.

I'm not having a pop at Heather, it's more about the system. I think the ranking system is outdated, and should be scrapped. How many players on the WTA tour really still deserve to be ranked at that level, and would they still carry on playing if the rankings were more volatile by design?

indiana · Tennis legend

If you are good enough you will get there.

A form of rankings as exists at present based on performances over the previous 12 month period with a sliding system based on level of tournament seems to me entirely appropriate ( while many of us might argue a bit about specific points allocations )

Inevitably the truly consistently better players will be up there year after year although, particularly in the women's game many's inconsistencies have introduced quite some flux over the last few years

I actually do like more of a narrative with some consistent top performers and others striving to beat them and get to the top. A decent rivalry is hopefully developing between Swiatek, Sabalenka and Rybakina as this year's stand out players so far

The ranking system IMO is just about the least of women's tennis's problems and remains pretty much fit for purpose.

-- Edited by indiana on Tuesday 13th of June 2023 03:29:14 PM