Round Robins: Great for Fans, Tough for Players
The women’s year-end Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships feature round robin matches. Given that players compete in single elimination tournaments for the rest of the year, it’s a big change for the players. Robin robins are terrific for tennis fans, TV networks and
promoters because there is a set schedule of matches for the first few days, as well as a series of guaranteed match-ups between the top players, e.g. Serena Williams versus Venus Williams in a round robin match!
On the other side of the net, there are a couple challenges for the players competing in the round robin matches in Doha this week. First off, they need to be ready to play their very best tennis from the first point of the first match because there are no “easy” first rounders and each of the three round robin matches is critical for a player trying to reach the semis. The semifinalists will be determined by the players who have the best win-loss records in each of the two four player round robin groups, as well as games won, etc. Therefore, a player such as Jelena Jankovic who played her first round robin match on Tuesday has a very slight advantage over Dinara Safina who doesn’t play her first round robin match until Wednesday against Jankovic who already has one match under her belt. At the same time, Jankovic has less than twenty-four hours to recover from a disappointing loss to Victoria Azarenka in her first match on Tuesday. On the regular Tour, players are usually moving on to the next tournament with almost a week between a loss and the next match so it’s a different mental challenge for the players competing in the round robin. The flip side for players is that they can sometimes come back after one bad loss in the round robin and given the “second chance” win their other two matches.
Given the talent and match records of the elite eight competing at the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships, these players are clearly well-equipped to handle the different match scenarios in Doha.
On the other side of the net, there are a couple challenges for the players competing in the round robin matches in Doha this week. First off, they need to be ready to play their very best tennis from the first point of the first match because there are no “easy” first rounders and each of the three round robin matches is critical for a player trying to reach the semis. The semifinalists will be determined by the players who have the best win-loss records in each of the two four player round robin groups, as well as games won, etc. Therefore, a player such as Jelena Jankovic who played her first round robin match on Tuesday has a very slight advantage over Dinara Safina who doesn’t play her first round robin match until Wednesday against Jankovic who already has one match under her belt. At the same time, Jankovic has less than twenty-four hours to recover from a disappointing loss to Victoria Azarenka in her first match on Tuesday. On the regular Tour, players are usually moving on to the next tournament with almost a week between a loss and the next match so it’s a different mental challenge for the players competing in the round robin. The flip side for players is that they can sometimes come back after one bad loss in the round robin and given the “second chance” win their other two matches.
Given the talent and match records of the elite eight competing at the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships, these players are clearly well-equipped to handle the different match scenarios in Doha.
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