couple others, i.e. Amelie Mauresmo and Maria Sharapova, it is basically over as well… and it’s only October 18^th!  The ATP and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour have recently unveiled streamlined tournament calendars for 2009 and beyond in an attempt to provide players with a longer off-season.  The reality is that players have always created their own extended off-seasons if they need to due to injuries or mental fatigue.  For Martina Hingis, there are questions about whether the hip injury which has plagued her in 2007 will signal her final retirement from competitive tennis or whether she will come back stronger for the 2008 Australian circuit.  Speaking of the Australian Open, Lleyton Hewitt had hoped to raise his ranking into the top 16 to aid his seeding for the 2008 Australian Open, but a chronic ankle injury required him to take several weeks off before resuming training in November with new coach, Tony Roche, for the 2008 campaign.  At the same time, Maria Sharapova has withdrawn from the next couple tournaments and it looks like her year is also over due to lingering shoulder problems which have hampered her game and her psyche.  Two-time Grand Slam champion, Amelie Mauresmo, has struggled since returning to the Tour in late September following a lengthy summer break to recover from her spring appendectomy and a bit of mental burnout.  Mauresmo competed in her final tournament of 2007 in Zurich this week and had another disappointing early-round loss to Alona Bondarenko.  When the 2008 Australian Open rolls around, we will learn how these players and others fared during their time off…

Posted by TC at 08:57 AM || Comments (0)