The past season on the ATP Tour was marked by injuries from a large number of top players. After some insiders have expressed themselves critically about the tournament calendar, the chairman of the tour, Chris Kermode, now talks about the plans of the World Federation.
“I think this year was one of the most unusual we’ve ever seen,”Kermode told Sky Sports Tennis,”Our idea was to give older players the opportunity to play longer on the tour. That’s why we’ve introduced a system that includes some exceptions for the Masters tournaments.”
Kermode refers to the rules that allow players to circumvent mandatory participation in the Masters-1000 events under certain criteria. If a player has played either 600 matches or twelve full years on the ATP Tour, or is over 30 years of age, he is “exempted”from a tournament, unlike everyone else. If a player meets all three criteria, he or she is exempted from all events in the second highest league.
The question is whether we want to see a 36-year-old Roger with his well-thought-out game plan, or whether we prefer it if all players show full commitment at all times and are in danger of injury,” Federer won two Grand Slams in 2017, but took a break during the entire clay court season.
In addition, Kermode knows the reason for the increased reporting of injuries on the ATP tour: There were simply too many of the absolute top players this season. According to Kermode, the total number of injuries fell by six percent, contrary to expectations, but “Our medical team will keep a close eye on developments,”promises Kermode. Players from the top 10 like Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka or Kei Nishikori had to end their season early.
The pros pose a difficult challenge to the ATP with their demands for a more energy-efficient tour:”If you asked players, most of them would say that the new rubbers are the main reason for the injuries,” explained Kermode,”but if you start to change the rubbers, you’ll be criticized for being too homogeneous and getting ever closer to speed – this is a permanent balancing act.
Responding to the question of whether ATP, despite a tight tournament calendar, intends to include more events in the calendar, Kermode is skeptical:”We have a very tight and intensive calendar with 62 tournaments scattered all over the world. The important thing for me is to keep the global character without looking too much for the money,”Kermode said.
And further:”I think that Africa could be interesting for us. We’re going to keep a close eye on these things because we’ve got almost too much to offer at the moment.”