The ATP Calendar: Eight Days a Week?

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: April 20, 2010

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Nadal has called the ATP schedule "crazy."

He’s right.

The current schedule was made for a world without TV or jet airplanes.

The now never-ending season was originally designed to be built around the Grand Slam tournaments. So why are there back-to-back Master Series hard court events—Indian Wells and Miami—right before the European clay season begins?

Tennis is a truly unique sport in that it’s played on three distinct surfaces—each requiring a unique strategy. This is one of game’s great strengths. Yet, the practice of a schedule so messed up dilutes this very unique characteristic.

And because specific surfaces demand specific skill sets, players need time to adjust their game. More than one top player has wished Wimbledon would fade away—or be cemented down. Not for any dislike for the All England Club per se, but because they have to hone their game to a specific surface during a season that is all too brief and so bereft of tournaments.

But let us not complain.

What follows is brief outline of how tennis could be constructed into three distinct seasons. I’m sharing this with you, gentle Beacher report reader, as I’m sure the ATP will find the rationale to perpetuate its illogical schedule.

I’m ignoring all the entrenched and financial interests of specific tournaments—one reason why this proposal will go no farther than a Bleacher Report feature. I’m trying to focus on the future “positioning” of the sport, a game some argue, that’s been in decline that past couple of decades. 

A key part of this is the incorporation of a relatively new tournament: ATP World Tour Masters 1000.  Only introduced in 1990, these are essentially "invitation only" tournamnets for the top male players on the professional circuit. Most are required participation. You can only ski...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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