Dubai is an ATP 500 event.Nadal and Verdasco didn't play because they were injured. Only the best 4 ATP 500 results count in the rankings for players who finished last year in the top 30.
http://www.atpworldtour.com/tennis/en/players/information/rankfaq.asp#pointvalue
This is the part I find ridiculous:
"All direct acceptance players at the time of the entry deadline who do not play will receive a 0-pointer in their ranking.
A player who is out of competition for 30 or more days, due to a verified injury, will not receive any penalties".
The entry deadline is 6 weeks before the start of the tournament so if some player gets injured in the previous 6 weeks and can't play the tournament but it's not a 1 month injury (Nadal-Rotterdam) he receives a penalty in the rankings.
It's a complete non sense. It's not right to penalize someone who can't play a tournament because of an injury.
I guess the ATP wanted to avoid players faking injuries and withdrawing from tournaments in the last minute but this rule is completely unfair to players with legit injuries. If someone is injured and he can verify it, he shouldn't be fined despite the date of the injury.
And adding more fuel, Federer withdrew from Dubai in the previous week alleguing a back injury that didn't let him play at 100% but Federer didn't receive a 0 pointer penalty in the rankings.
http://www.atpworldtour.com/tennis/3/en/players/playerprofiles/pointsbreakdown.asp?player=F324
Why? I guess it's because he showed up at the players party in Dubai and the ATP sees it as a promoting event activity. I can't think of any other reason but I would like to know if there is one.
This is also ridiculous. We know Federer resides and practices in Dubai for a good part of the season but the ATP cannot expect that players who live thousands of miles away go all the way to Dubai just for a promoting event activity. Bottom line is Federer didn't receive a penalty in the rankings because he resides in Dubai whereas Nadal and Verdasco received a penalty because they live too far away from Dubai.
This rule means that Nadal, Verdasco and Roddick (he also got a 0 pointer but it was his own decision not to play in Dubai) cannot gain ranking points from their best 4 ATP 500 results, only from their best 3, because that 0 pointer will not drop until next year.
http://www.atpworldtour.com/tennis/3/en/players/playerprofiles/pointsbreakdown.asp?player=N409
http://www.atpworldtour.com/tennis/3/en/players/playerprofiles/pointsbreakdown.asp?player=V306
http://www.atpworldtour.com/tennis/3/en/players/playerprofiles/pointsbreakdown.asp?player=R485
Davis Cup results also count in the ATP 500 category rankings wise so it's possible that Davis Cup ranking points are not countable for these players.
There is also another 0 pointer penalty for players who don't play an ATP 500 event after the US Open. I find this rule ridiculous as well. Why make it mandatory after the US Open (when all players are more tired) and not before? So if Nadal, Verdasco or Roddick don't play an ATP 500 event after the US Open they will get two 0 point penalties and only their best 2 results in 500 events will count in the rankings, even if they played more ATP 500 events than other players before the US Open.
The ATP wanted to promote these 500 events but the rules they made for that are a complete and unfair mess. This is probably the last legacy of De Villiers. Does the ATP even consider the players opinions when making these rules? I doubt so. Players should give a step forward, voice their opinions and have more weight in decisions. ATP is nothing without players. What is the Players Council for?
http://www.atpworldtour.com/tennis/en/players/information/rankfaq.asp#pointvalue
This is the part I find ridiculous:
"All direct acceptance players at the time of the entry deadline who do not play will receive a 0-pointer in their ranking.
A player who is out of competition for 30 or more days, due to a verified injury, will not receive any penalties".
The entry deadline is 6 weeks before the start of the tournament so if some player gets injured in the previous 6 weeks and can't play the tournament but it's not a 1 month injury (Nadal-Rotterdam) he receives a penalty in the rankings.
It's a complete non sense. It's not right to penalize someone who can't play a tournament because of an injury.
I guess the ATP wanted to avoid players faking injuries and withdrawing from tournaments in the last minute but this rule is completely unfair to players with legit injuries. If someone is injured and he can verify it, he shouldn't be fined despite the date of the injury.
And adding more fuel, Federer withdrew from Dubai in the previous week alleguing a back injury that didn't let him play at 100% but Federer didn't receive a 0 pointer penalty in the rankings.
http://www.atpworldtour.com/tennis/3/en/players/playerprofiles/pointsbreakdown.asp?player=F324
Why? I guess it's because he showed up at the players party in Dubai and the ATP sees it as a promoting event activity. I can't think of any other reason but I would like to know if there is one.
This is also ridiculous. We know Federer resides and practices in Dubai for a good part of the season but the ATP cannot expect that players who live thousands of miles away go all the way to Dubai just for a promoting event activity. Bottom line is Federer didn't receive a penalty in the rankings because he resides in Dubai whereas Nadal and Verdasco received a penalty because they live too far away from Dubai.
This rule means that Nadal, Verdasco and Roddick (he also got a 0 pointer but it was his own decision not to play in Dubai) cannot gain ranking points from their best 4 ATP 500 results, only from their best 3, because that 0 pointer will not drop until next year.
http://www.atpworldtour.com/tennis/3/en/players/playerprofiles/pointsbreakdown.asp?player=N409
http://www.atpworldtour.com/tennis/3/en/players/playerprofiles/pointsbreakdown.asp?player=V306
http://www.atpworldtour.com/tennis/3/en/players/playerprofiles/pointsbreakdown.asp?player=R485
Davis Cup results also count in the ATP 500 category rankings wise so it's possible that Davis Cup ranking points are not countable for these players.
There is also another 0 pointer penalty for players who don't play an ATP 500 event after the US Open. I find this rule ridiculous as well. Why make it mandatory after the US Open (when all players are more tired) and not before? So if Nadal, Verdasco or Roddick don't play an ATP 500 event after the US Open they will get two 0 point penalties and only their best 2 results in 500 events will count in the rankings, even if they played more ATP 500 events than other players before the US Open.
The ATP wanted to promote these 500 events but the rules they made for that are a complete and unfair mess. This is probably the last legacy of De Villiers. Does the ATP even consider the players opinions when making these rules? I doubt so. Players should give a step forward, voice their opinions and have more weight in decisions. ATP is nothing without players. What is the Players Council for?