Hellish Schedule Breaking Down Players

Andy Roddick warned us. Everyone has been warning us, really, with words or with pain, or meltdowns.

But on Monday, Roddick complained that the tennis schedule is too rough on the players. He called the requirements of the tour "ridiculous," and warned that the short-sightedness of the rules-makers might cut short the careers of stars.

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On Tuesday, this is what he said:

"I don't really know what's going on in there. I'm not a doctor. [The pain] was enough to make me stop a tennis match, which is going to be pretty significant."

Roddick hurt his knee in the first set in the first round of the Shanghai Masters Tuesday and had to retire from the match. He planned to fly back to the U.S. for tests. And when a 27-year old tennis player's knee pops, you have to wonder about the long term.

The tennis schedule has become a major problem. Women keep retiring just to get away from the grind, and then come back after months or years. Rafael Nadal missed several months this year with tendinitis -- wear and tear -- in his knees. And in the past few weeks, most of the top-10 men have suddenly shown signs of trouble.

It is amazing that a players' union hasn't emerged to demand changes. The players' union and tournament directors merged under the ATP Tour 20 years ago.

"I certainly don't see any other sporting leagues or federations following our lead as far as not being individually represented," Roddick said before the injury. "I don't know that it's up to the players to be making business decisions about the schedule. At a certain point, I wish our input would be [considered]."

The tennis schedule has become a major problem. Women keep retiring just to get away from the grind, and then come back after months or years.
So I would like to rip into tennis' governing bodies for their greed. They draw up a long schedule, demand that players come to all sorts of tournaments -- they can't simply pick and choose -- in a money grab that endangers the health of their best players.

And I believe that all to be true. At the same time, this isn't a one-sided thing.

Nadal also complained Monday about the schedule:

"It's impossible to play first of January to finish fifth of December. It's impossible to be here playing like what I did the last five years, playing a lot of matches and being all the time 100 percent without problems."

Yes, the schedule lasts 11 months. But Nadal also plays all the tournaments leading up to the French Open, when he could easily skip one. And on Tuesday, we found that he had agreed, with Roger Federer, to play in a three-day exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi starting Dec. 31.

Rafa complained about the length of the schedule, and then added a week to it?

Andy Murray won the event in Abu Dhabi last year, and now has a sore wrist.

Serena Williams has talked about the demands of the tour, but then inexplicably played a small, meaningless tournament in Italy.

Federer is out this week, complaining of fatigue. But last year, he came down with mono that weakened him, and that came with a schedule that included exhibitions around the world with Pete Sampras.

So money grabs come from all sides.

It's clear that tennis wants its regular events meaningful, and not just its majors. So if players skip mandatory events, then they drop dramatically in the rankings and can build up big fines.

At this point, the tours seem to have the power.

Meanwhile, Federer is out with exhaustion (though, at the same time, adding the exhibition tournament). Nadal is still recovering. No. 3 Murray was a mess at the U.S. Open with his bad wrist. Juan Martin del Potro, the U.S. Open champ, and Roddick have both lost to players not ranked in the top 140 in the past few days.

"I don't think it's coincidental," Roddick said about the troubles of the top players. "It's ridiculous to think that you have a professional sport that doesn't have a legitimate offseason to rest, get healthy and then train."

This was a year of re-emergence for Roddick. He reached No. 1 as a young player, and then let the game pass him by as he stuck with mindless power. This year, he dedicated himself to fitness, to losing weight, gaining speed, developing a backhand and, most importantly, finding a strategy.

And it took him to a classic Wimbledon final, which he barely lost to Federer.

"For the last five years, I have been No. 1 or No. 2 in terms of matches played, and I was OK, with only a few problems," he said. "But sooner or later it becomes impossible."

We move into what should be one of the best eras of men's tennis, but too many top players are grinding down. Roddick has become the kind of star player tennis needs.

Now, wait for test results to see what the game has done to him.

Email me at gregcouch09@aol.com