Fines for Medical Time-outs in Women's Tennis
In an effort to reduce the number of medical time-outs called by tennis players on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, there is a plan to institute a system in 2009 in which players will be fined for injury time-outs beyond a specified “cap.” Under this new plan, players who frequently request the trainer to come on court for an extended medical time-out will be charged a “user fee” of $100 at smaller WTA tennis tournaments and $500 at
larger tournaments. This “revenue” will be reinvested in the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour’s sports science services. The Grand Slams, i.e. Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open, which are governed by the ITF, are not included in this plan. One major change in the rules several years ago allowed players to request a trainer for what used to be called “loss of condition”, i.e. cramps. As a result, there are now many medical time-outs called for what appear to often be more fatigue-related symptoms than an acute injury requiring the prompt attention of a trainer or a doctor. The goal of this new system is to reduce unwarranted medical time-outs which have been an issue at times and affected the “presentation” of women’s pro tennis. For example, fans have to sometimes wait ten to fifteen minutes while a trainer in called to the court. However, it’s unlikely that these small fines will affect the decisions by millionaire tennis players regarding when they request a medical time-out. Some struggling lower-ranked players may think twice under this plan, but they are not the focus of the new system. One could debate what types of injuries and illnesses truly warrant a medical time-out. However, this is one of those gray areas where the honor system needs to followed. Hopefully, as players recognize the impact of their repeated calls for trainers for what appear to be non-acute injuries, perhaps they will slowly request help less frequently.
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