LONDON: World No.2 Roger Federer has hit back at critics of the current ATP Tour calendar, arguing that the surge in injured players is due to age.
The 36-year-old weighed in on the debate moments after qualifying for the semifinals of the ATP World Tour Finals for the 14th time in his career. This year’s event has been marred by notable absentees. Defending champion Andy Murray is nursing a hip injury, Novak Djokovic is recovering from an elbow problem and Kei Nishikori has been troubled by his wrist. On top of that, world No.1 Rafael Nadal withdrew from the tournament on Monday due to a knee injury.
“Shave 10 years of our age, and we probably will do better.” Federer joked about resolving the extensive casualty list.
The men’s tour has previously been criticized for their long season, with tournaments taking place between January-November. Former Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic, who also ended his season early due to physical problems, has been very vocal in his opposition. Calling for the calendar to be reduced to seven months.
Raonic’s calls have been met with scepticism from tour veteran Federer, who points out that more players are playing into their 30s. Meaning that injury is more likely to occur. In the 2016 ATP year-end rankings, 36 players inside the top 100 were over the age of 30. Furthermore, 12 of those were either at or tied with their ranking best.
“A lot of the guys are just touching 30 plus. Back in the day, at 30, a lot of guys were retiring. Edberg, Sampras, it was like normal at 29, 32, to start looking towards the end of your career.” Federer pointed out.
“Now you guys expect everybody to play till 36. When somebody is injured at 31, it’s like, ‘Oh, my God, how is this possible?’”
Of course people like 26-year-old Raonic disproves Federer’s theory. Although, he explains why so many younger players are being hit with wrist injuries. Once again insisting that it isn’t due to the scheduling of tournaments.
“Wrist to me is not something that comes from overplaying, especially if it’s your left hand.” Said Federer. “ From what I’ve been told, the wrist is always in a troubled position with that flicking that’s going on more and more these days.”
So what is the solution to the problem? Should tennis fans just accept that in the future more players will be spending time away from the sport to recover? Federer has an answer to that, illustrated by his own approach to the tour. His decision to skip the entire clay-court season raised eyebrows, but it enabled him to return stronger. An approach he urges his rivals to follow.
“The season has been the same for many, many years, as we know.” He explained.
“I think just when you get older, you maybe have to manage your schedule, maybe a little bit differently.’
“But some guys, they just go maybe all out for 15 years, and they do it until you sort of break down, then they just reset.”
List of injured players
PLAYER | INJURY | AGE |
Rafael Nadal | Knee | 31 |
Stan Wawrinka | knee | 32 |
Novak Djokovic | Elbow | 30 |
Andy Murray | Hip | 30 |
Tomas Berdych | Back | 32 |
Kei Nishikori | Wrist | 27 |
Milos Raonic | Various | 26 |