Down for the Count

Written by Darren Whitfield – guest blogger

Lindsay Davenport, once a number one player, has withdrawn from the Bank of the West Classic tournament due to a ongoing knee injury. Davenport stated “she wants to give her knee the proper time to heal.” Lindsay is joinning the long list of players who have become injured due to the rigorous schedules.

Along with Davenport, Guillermo Coria retired today with a shoulder injury in the first round of Kitzbuehel as well as Murray pulling out of Indianapolis at the last moment citing injury.

In recent weeks, both the WTA and the ATP have been raising concerns about the number of tournaments and a short span of time. The increase in tournaments has meant for little time to rest and an increase in injured players. The list of players pulling out of tournaments has increased so much that the is downgrading Hamburg to a smaller event in hopes to allow top player to rest before Paris.

The question is does there need to be a revamp of the schedules to allow for more rest? The truth of the matter is people are paying to see big names but the big names aren’t showing because they are overworked and want to have time in between majors to prepare. Both the ATP and WTA need to look at the schedules and figure out a way to change the number of events. Not only are the players suffering by getting injured but the fans suffer because they are exposed to poor matches and pull outs. I believe if the tournament season remains the same the sport will suffer. What do you think about the schedule. We all know how Hamburg feels.