yesterday after two games because of a back injury.  Today, Zvonareva, the first alternate, played a long, tough match against Caroline Wozniacki losing 7-5 in the third.  Wozniacki, who injured her hamstring and had to retire last week during her early round match in Luxembourg, battled severe leg cramps late in the third set, but somehow persevered and won.

The women’s Tour has a streamlined tournament calendar this year, the “Roadmap,” which ends the season earlier than in the past, but yet there are still multiple players withdrawing with injuries from the year-end Championships.  According to Tour CEO, Stacey Allaster, prior to the start of the year-end Championships, there were 17 retirements in the first round of tournaments in 2009, compared with 36 in 2008.  Overall, there have been 58 retirements and walkovers in 2009, compared to 71 in 2008.  The Tour also made its player commitment at 80% of the tournaments in 2009 compared to zero in 2007.  Nonetheless, there are still a lot of injuries affecting both the women and men throughout the pro tennis season. 

Many variables contribute to the injury tallies.  Players are balancing Tour and sponsor commitments which are tied to monetary incentives, as well as the race for ranking points.  In addition, the relatively short careers of most top athletes compel them to often compete with niggling aches and pains which sometimes develop into more serious injuries.  Players also spend some of their “vacation” time playing in lucrative exhibitions or charity events which also require some match preparation and fitness training rather than rest.  Ideally, there would be breaks between the “seasons” on the tournament calendar, but in reality the breaks are too few and too far between.  As a result, the wear and tear and resulting injuries remain a frustrating aspect of professional tennis, especially at the end of the season.

Posted by TC at 11:18 PM |