MindoverMatter
Professional
All this talk about the Real Slam Cincy got me thinking again about a topic I've debated with some of my friends before, and I think has been brought up on the boards a couple of times as well: What would you think about making Indian Wells the 5th Grand Slam?
There are a couple arguments to be made for the idea. First, it's in a perfect position in the current tournament schedule. It's placed right between the Australian Open and the French Open, and could help fill the 4 month gap that exists between the two tournaments. The clay season doesn't really begin by that point either, though tournaments like Acapulco and Buenos Aires would lose all major players.
Indian Wells is already one of the only two Masters tournaments with a Slam-level draw (128 spots, though 32 players get a bye due to not enough time for scheduling). Its the best attended tournaments outside the Slams right now, it has the second largest stadium in the world and is planning expansions, and it offers the most prize money out of the current Masters tournaments.
Now, let's consider the downsides.
First and foremost (the thing that I hear most often and is probably the best argument against it), it would mean another Major in the United States. The US already seems to hold a large majority of the major tournaments already, and adding another Slam would tread pretty hard on the toes of all the other countries in the world. It hardly seems fair, and it probably isn't. It's also another hard court slam, which further polarizes the influence of the surfaces.
Second, it would probably crush Miami's player attendance. The fact that Miami currently comes after Indian Wells will have to change (there's no chance players are going to play a Masters right after a Major, especially a hard court masters coming before a clay season), but even putting Miami before Indian Wells isn't going to fix the attendance. Top players will tank early to rest up for the Slam, and those who win will have little to no chance of going deep in the Major.
Besides that, there's simply tradition to think of. There are 4 Grand Slams; it's been this way for over 100 years. Why change?
What do you guys think?
There are a couple arguments to be made for the idea. First, it's in a perfect position in the current tournament schedule. It's placed right between the Australian Open and the French Open, and could help fill the 4 month gap that exists between the two tournaments. The clay season doesn't really begin by that point either, though tournaments like Acapulco and Buenos Aires would lose all major players.
Indian Wells is already one of the only two Masters tournaments with a Slam-level draw (128 spots, though 32 players get a bye due to not enough time for scheduling). Its the best attended tournaments outside the Slams right now, it has the second largest stadium in the world and is planning expansions, and it offers the most prize money out of the current Masters tournaments.
Now, let's consider the downsides.
First and foremost (the thing that I hear most often and is probably the best argument against it), it would mean another Major in the United States. The US already seems to hold a large majority of the major tournaments already, and adding another Slam would tread pretty hard on the toes of all the other countries in the world. It hardly seems fair, and it probably isn't. It's also another hard court slam, which further polarizes the influence of the surfaces.
Second, it would probably crush Miami's player attendance. The fact that Miami currently comes after Indian Wells will have to change (there's no chance players are going to play a Masters right after a Major, especially a hard court masters coming before a clay season), but even putting Miami before Indian Wells isn't going to fix the attendance. Top players will tank early to rest up for the Slam, and those who win will have little to no chance of going deep in the Major.
Besides that, there's simply tradition to think of. There are 4 Grand Slams; it's been this way for over 100 years. Why change?
What do you guys think?
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