Every year around this time, some of the players seem to start complaining that the season is too long. Which comes off as sour graping because there are plenty of stretches during the year they can take time off if they really need it.. Some top players complain while there are others who don't. They just play. But I like it the way the season is and it seems most fans do too. I like the indoor tournaments in the fall and year end championships and Davis Cup final, even if some of the top players are not in the draws, which gives players like Tsonga, Berdych, Stepanek, Pavel, Nalbandian, Simon, Davydenko an opportunity to win a Masters Series which in a way is better for the sport than seeing the same two or three players in the finals. Every year they complain, every year nothing ever changes. Hopefully it won't. Just wondering what others think about the schedule, if you agree with it being too long or is it okay as is?

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I enjoy tennis so much that I like the schedule the way it is.  Even when they are supposed to have the month of December off, there are challengers being played.  I spend my days following tennis on the computer and wish we got to see more live tennis on TV.

With all the injuries tennis players are having now, I can understand why some complain.  This week Jurgen is playing in Vienna with a heel injury.  He has ranking points to defend.  I use this as an example of players playing when they need time off to get over their injuries.  Look at Nadal who took time off after gaining the #1 ranking and because he was injured had to miss several tournaments. 

I believe if they shortened the season, the players would all be out practicing so it really would not make much difference.  Maybe Redhead can tell us if Vince takes time off during Dec. or is he out on the courts.  Jurgen takes a weeks vacation and then starts getting ready for the next year.  At least he can be home for the holidays.

I miss tennis when there are not matches to follow.  I also miss baseball during football.  Actually I love all sports and I think maybe a shorter tennis season would create more interest among folks that do not ordinarily follow tennis.  The season is to long for many of them.

I heard what Agassi said, and what others have said.

But don't you find it strange that... in that lull from say halfway thru November

to basically Jan. ONE

when the Aussie Open starts

that you have all these "exhibitions" among some players?

Tennis players have injuries..... YESSSSSS..... but they are not the same kinds of injuries that football players have. Some dude just broke his leg bone in the NFL! Another dude broke his ankle! So I guess my thought is that even though the season is LONG? Tennis is not a hard contact sport like boxing or the NFL.

I actually LIKE the long season. It gives me a chance as a fan to see months and months of a sport I love. 

 

 

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Carpe Diem, my friend... all the way to the end:
http://www.motionbox.com/videos/d496d2b51c19e1cd5b

I believe the pro tennis tour is too long. But remember, it used to be a year long sport, with no off season at all!!  Go back to the 1970s and early 1980s. There was a tournament every week!  The season ending events couldn't even fit in the calendar year, so they were held in January, culminating the previous year's tour! And the very next week the new tour would start up again.  So in some respects, today's players have it easy.

 

And it's easy for fans to say the season isn't too long. 

 

It'll never happen in my lifetime, unless they offer me job as tennis commissioner, but pro tennis needs a more intelligent schedule, to maximize the potential it has.

 

I don't know if the complaints you hear are sour grapes, but I think some of the complaints are rather empty when the same ones calling for a shorter season are seen planning and playing exos in the off season!   Don't know if I agree that players should just take time off during the season. There are rest weeks built into the season already. Some players don't manage their on schedules well enough. And there is too much greed on the part of tournament directors, agents, TV folks, and players themselves when it comes to tournaments and commitments.

I don't think the season is too long. As a fan I like it when I can see tennis year-round. What I don't like though is making certain events mandatory. I like the approach Federer is taking, in that he takes enough time off during the year to keep playing his best. On the other side, it also gives players that need the money/ranking points/practice the opportunity to play if they want to.

I am an avid player and watcher of tennis.  After spending two weeks of a grand slam watching as many matches as I can, I will admit that I need a break.  However, the break I need lasts about one to two weeks and then I want more.  At some points of the season, I get to see more, but at other points, they don't televise the matches and I miss seeing them.  So, for my own entertainment, I would say that the tennis season should never really end.

Now, as far as recognizing that human beings are entertaining me, I am willing to say that their bodies and minds need to recuperate from constant demands.  It really is a long year for players and if they wanted three months off, I would sorely miss them, but would forgive their need.  On the other hand, I don't think it would be good for their games to have such long breaks.  The best thing would be to adjust the number of weeks per year that a player is required to play, reducing it from the current requirement and maybe even limiting those who play too much so that others won't feel they are missing out on the potential points.  Whatever time is chosen should give player sufficient time to heal their bodies in between tournaments.  Perhaps a few more weeks could be added to the break that starts in November.

That's the thing, most of the top players are taking advantage of their rankings and do exhibitions in Nov and Dec. And from what I have seen and heard, the players really practice hard during Dec. and most of the top guns are ready by Christmas. We all know about Agassi running up mountains on Christmas Day. I remember the year Rios made the Australian final I heard he was working super hard at Bollettieri that December.

No one takes much time off at the end of the year, maybe a week or two. They can't afford to. How can they if they know their rivals are out there working harder. 

You just hope the players don't burn out too early. Like JC Ferrero the year he got to #1 and had to play the Davis Cup final at the end of the year. He has never been the same since. And Vampiro Massu when he won five setters in the Olympic singles and doubles finals and played liek 24 hours of tennis in Athens, he also has, unfortunately, never been close to the same since. But you gotta give him credit, what Massu did in Athens was one of the most amazing achievements in tennis history and will probably never be close to duplicated.

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