Is the ATP Tour schedule really to blame for injuries?

[Enterprise]

Grinding is to blame for injuries. And running baths for your kids.

Bath tubs are dangerous, seriously, seriously flawed devices. Walk in Shower every time for all pro athletes and their kids.

 

[Chadillac]

Plays exo's then complains about the tour being too long.

 

[Purplemonster]

Nadal plays a high risk high reward game. He doesn't strike the ball, he destroys it, every. single. time. Is hard on the body, no?

Agreed. And one player who can learn from such a thing is Thiem.

 

[Purplemonster]

One thing few mention is that Murray and Nadal are carrying around a lot of weight contrasted to former great baseliners. Borg was 5'11 and 155 pounds, Lendl was 6'1 and 172 pounds. Wilander was 5'10 and 150 pounds, etc.

Murray and Nadal are so muscle bound they both weigh near 190 pounds. Those extra pounds translate into massive pounding on the joints and body. The only truly great player of the past who weighed a similar amount was Becker, but he played short points, of course.

Federer weighs the same as Nadal

 

[Sudacafan]

Plays exo's then complains about the tour being too long.

About exhos, I am not so sure if players are in a position to choose.

 

[tacou]

Tennis would do well to have a more lax schedule with a slightly longer off-season. It's sad to see the extent of injuries across all levels of the tour.

It isn't even about the Nadals of the tour; they are in a position where they can pick and choose more wisely. But if you're slightly further down the ranks, the structure of the tour puts massive incentives for overplaying and competing while nut fully fit. It's unrealistic to except people to step back and play less when they're always chasing the next paycheck to pay their team or trying to get their rankings high enough to get seeded and so on. So it's more realistic to slightly alter the structure.

Just my cents.

what sort of structure are you thinking?

 

[gplracer]

I have tried to like Nadal. I appreciate him as a player but when he makes comments like this how can anyone like him? Maybe he should not have a game style that relies so heavily on fitness and wearing your opponent down. Maybe he should win the points quicker. He picked the game style he has. He is 30 years old and for many their tennis careers are in their twilight at that age. Heck McEnroe never won a grand slam past the age of 25. He can always choose to play less tournaments. It is not the tour Nadal. It is YOUR BODY and your game style that have caught up with you.

 

[gplracer]

Let's see who's injured here...

Andy Murray - hits 20 balls to win a point...

Novak Djokovic - hits 20 balls to win a point...

Rafael Nadal - hits 20 balls to win a point...

But yeah sure, it's the tour's fault. Why not?

Exactly!

 

[thrust]

Nobody forced Nadal to play all 9 Masters and many lesser tournaments last year. That schedule was too heavy for 31 year old. But he chose it for getting #1. So he has himself to blame (just like Murray in 2016).

CORRECT! Poor scheduling and game style are the cause for Nadal and some other players injuries. I think that a player of Nadal's age and stature is not required to play all 9 Masters?

 

[THE MAN]

He doesn't strike the ball, he destroys it, every. single. time. Is hard on the body, no?

Reminds me of Tiger Woods in golf, he just wore his body out.

 

[kabob]

Reminds me of a cafe I worked at years ago. Every morning we set out these big glass jars out on the patio and made fresh sun tea. The customers loved the tea and ordered it knowing it was made fresh everyday and had no preservatives or anything funky added to it.

One day, the restaurant owner came onto the deck and accidentally knocked off a couple of the jars and they shattered on the ground. "That's it! No more sun tea!" she said. The rest of us were like, "Wait, we don't get to make sun tea for the customers anymore cos you're too stupid to watch your step?"

We served pre-bought iced tea after that, all the while thinking what a complete *ss our boss was.

In life, sometimes you have to bite the bullet and take responsibility for the stupid sh*t you do and not pass the buck. It's what grown-ups do.

I mean, she's the owner and can make whatever rules she wants within health and labor laws. She technically *doesn't* need to take responsibility for herself.

 

[kabob]

One thing few mention is that Murray and Nadal are carrying around a lot of weight contrasted to former great baseliners. Borg was 5'11 and 155 pounds, Lendl was 6'1 and 172 pounds. Wilander was 5'10 and 150 pounds, etc.

Murray and Nadal are so muscle bound they both weigh near 190 pounds. Those extra pounds translate into massive pounding on the joints and body. The only truly great player of the past who weighed a similar amount was Becker, but he played short points, of course.

Not to rain on your parade, but Federer weighs just as much as Nadal at nearly 190 lbs. He's got massive legs and trunk even if his skinny arms make him look slimmer than he actually is. And I know players fib on their bios but Federer himself has said this himself in an interview.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

I'm not sure but when Rafa, Djoker, Murray, Stan and Raonic (all top 10 at their best) are out or struggling you have to ask the question. Fed has also had his injury tweaks last year too.

I guess the only way to shorten the season is to move the AO to March.

Feb / Mar: IW, Miami, AO
Apr / May: Rome, MC, Madrid, RG
June / July: Grass season culminating in Wimbledon
Aug / Sep: Cincy, Canada, USO
Oct / Nov: Paris, Shanghai, WTF, Davis Cup Final

 

[insideguy]

This is like me crying my work is killing me when I volunteer for 30 hrs overtime a week.