Ideal Tennis Tournament Schedule

[Sundaymorningguy]

If you could make the ideal tennis tournament schedule for the tours what would yours be? Would you move tournaments to different time frames in the year, upgrade or downgrade tournaments, or remove them entirely?

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

I would like to see the AO change it's current schedule of January, I dont feel it gives all the players enough time off and their pre season training. The main reason the AO is held in January, is because of the school holidays. Maybe they could start it and the end of January, just my opinion

 

[Moxie]

Interesting question. You know that everyone's 1st, 2nd and 3rd answer to this question is going to be: Add a MS 1000 on grass.

 

[Moxie]

I would like to see the AO change it's current schedule of January, I dont feel it gives all the players enough time off and their pre season training. The main reason the AO is held in January, is because of the school holidays. Maybe they could start it and the end of January, just my opinion

I think it would be great to have a better ramp-up to the AO. Question for you: If they moved the AO even to little later, would the weather be less hot?

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

I think it would be great to have a better ramp-up to the AO. Question for you: If they moved the AO even to little later, would the weather be less hot?

No, January and February are usually our 'hottest Summer months. March would be ideal though that would be too late for the tour

 

[TheSicilian]

Start Wimbledon late July or move Uso to early August, I really would like a Slam in the middle of summer. Also reduce the number of HC events and increase Clay and especially Grass events. Maybe move Uso back so it's where the season ends. I would also make every tournament final a best of 5 set match.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Start Wimbledon late July or move Uso to early August, I really would like a Slam in the middle of summer. Also reduce the number of HC events and increase Clay and especially Grass events. Maybe move Uso back so it's where the season ends. I would also make every tournament final a best of 5 set match.

I would like to see the return of all the Masters final's the best of 5 match

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

I don’t know I think you could make a late February early March timeline work for Australia.

I was thinking something like this:
Like an Asia/Australia circuit for January and February: maybe move some of the tournaments in the Middle East, Tokyo, and any in China and Australia to January and February with a lead up to Australia maybe second half of February or one week February/one week March

March can be either Indian Wells or Miami

Second half of March - First half of May could be clay court season with the French playing for the final 2 weeks of May

June - mid July can be grass season if they add a MS grass event then have Wimbledon play the final 2 weeks of July

August/September - Miami or Indian Wells whichever wasn’t played in March and Canadian Open, demote Cincy to 500

Last two weeks of September play the US Open

October - Paris and ATP Finals

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

I don’t know I think you could make a late February early March timeline work for Australia.

I was thinking something like this:
Like an Asia/Australia circuit for January and February: maybe move some of the tournaments in the Middle East, Tokyo, and any in China and Australia to January and February with a lead up to Australia maybe second half of February or one week February/one week March

March can be either Indian Wells or Miami

Second half of March - First half of May could be clay court season with the French playing for the final 2 weeks of May

June - mid July can be grass season if they add a MS grass event then have Wimbledon play the final 2 weeks of July

August/September - Miami or Indian Wells whichever wasn’t played in March and Canadian Open, demote Cincy to 500

Last two weeks of September play the US Open

October - Paris and ATP Finals

I cannot see Cinncy being demoted to ATP 500, the new owners of the tournament would not be too pleased

 

[PhiEaglesfan712]

Here's what I would do with the WTA schedule:

Asia/Australia warm-ups in January and first week of February.

Australian Open mid-February (like 2021).

Miami Open in late March-early April (as normal).

Clay court season from mid-April to mid-May (as normal).

French Open in late May-early June (as normal).

2-month mid-season break (to minimize burnout)

Grass court warm-ups first week of August.

Wimbledon in mid-August.

US Open series from late August to end of September.

Indian Wells first half of October (like 2021).

US Open in second half of October.

WTA Finals in early November (as normal).

 

[PhiEaglesfan712]

Smart decision. It will also help their scheduling, however Wimbledon has always been the best at scheduling anyway.

I still think that there needs to be a 2-month midseason break after the French Open, and that Wimbledon should be moved to August. Then, the US Open Series could take place in late August and through September, with the US Open in October. That would lessen the gap between the US Open and the ATP/WTA Finals.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

I still think that there needs to be a 2-month midseason break after the French Open, and that Wimbledon should be moved to August. Then, the US Open Series could take place in late August and through September, with the US Open in October. That would lessen the gap between the US Open and the ATP/WTA

When it comes to scheduling I feel the AO could be re-scheduled later than January for starters, even though the reason being it is in the school holidays in Australia.I feel the off season is not long enough, with ATP finals and DC being played in November, players haven't got enough time to heal niggling injuries, and prepare for preseason training.

 

[PhiEaglesfan712]

When it comes to scheduling I feel the AO could be re-scheduled later than January for starters, even though the reason being it is in the school holidays in Australia.I feel the off season is not long enough, with ATP finals and DC being played in November, players haven't got enough time to heal niggling injuries, and prepare for preseason training.

I definitely agree with you on the AO. 2021 proved that the AO can be played in February. The problem is that there are way too many filler events in between the US Open and the ATP/WTA Finals. A 2-month midseason break would allow players to heal nagging injuries, and reduce the time in between the US Open and the ATP/WTA Finals, which would improve the level of play during the 2nd half of the season, especially at Wimbledon and the US Open. The filler tournaments can be played in January and early February, before the AO.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

I definitely agree with you on the AO. 2021 proved that the AO can be played in February. The problem is that there are way too many filler events in between the US Open and the ATP/WTA Finals. A 2-month midseason break would allow players to heal nagging injuries, and reduce the time in between the US Open and the ATP/WTA Finals, which would improve the level of play during the 2nd half of the season, especially at Wimbledon and the US Open. The filler tournaments can be played in January and early February, before the AO.

The main obstacle has always been with the AO moving, is it more humid and hotter in February in Australia, that is our hottest month, though tennis is a Summer event all over the world, also the officials are afraid moving it to February away from the school holidays in Australia the crowds would be lower, remember it is all about bums on seats and the money it brings in.

 

[Fiero425]

I still think that there needs to be a 2-month midseason break after the French Open, and that Wimbledon should be moved to August. Then, the US Open Series could take place in late August and through September, with the US Open in October. That would lessen the gap between the US Open and the ATP/WTA Finals.

I never thought we should be fooling around w/ the calendar like that! It was bad enough when they added weeks between FO & Wimbledon! I liked the original schedule which made it more impressive winning back to back! Now it's nothing as 3 players have won the Channel Slam; facilitated by that huge break to acclimate to grass! Hard to believe how Borg & Evert won it back it the 70's after winning Paris, they had 6 days before Wimbledon's 1st round; Often enough, Borg had to be there early to open the tournament that Monday afternoon! There are 4 events to get ready these days even though courts have been homogenized to make baseliners like Nadal and Djokovic winners w/ 9 Chp. between them! Borg doing it season after season playing w/ a stick elevates him above all others to this day! Nadal's had all kinds of warm-ups, but hasn't taken a WImbledon title since 2010, defeating Berdych who upset Federer!

 

[TheSicilian]

The main obstacle has always been with the AO moving, is it more humid and hotter in February in Australia, that is our hottest month, though tennis is a Summer event all over the world, also the officials are afraid moving it to February away from the school holidays in Australia the crowds would be lower, remember it is all about bums on seats and the money it brings in.

I know it will never happen for reasons you mentioned, but I think I.W / Miami should be played first and then have AO in march to end the hc season and move onto clay.

 

[TheSicilian]

I also dislike the lack of big events after slams, Ao is finished the season has just started yet we have a 5/6 week wait until I.W the next "big tournament". After RG it's ok as we get a jam packed grass season starting the day after. Once SW19 finishes we get another month of nothing big until Canada masters. After Uso apart from Wtf it's a bunch of pointless tournaments. I would move tournaments closer together and shorten the season so the players have a better off season, but keep smaller events running all year round to give the lower ranked players more chances to play

 

[PhiEaglesfan712]

I never thought we should be fooling around w/ the calendar like that! It was bad enough when they added weeks between FO & Wimbledon! I liked the original schedule which made it more impressive winning back to back! Now it's nothing as 3 players have won the Channel Slam; facilitated by that huge break to acclimate to grass! Hard to believe how Borg & Evert won it back it the 70's after winning Paris, they had 6 days before Wimbledon's 1st round; Often enough, Borg had to be there early to open the tournament that Monday afternoon! There are 4 events to get ready these days even though courts have been homogenized to make baseliners like Nadal and Djokovic winners w/ 9 Chp. between them! Borg doing it season after season playing w/ a stick elevates him above all others to this day! Nadal's had all kinds of warm-ups, but hasn't taken a WImbledon title since 2010, defeating Berdych who upset Federer!

The problem of having the slams back-to-back (and on different surfaces) is burnout. Some of the most famous examples of burnout were Borg retiring at age 25 and Jennifer Capriati leaving the WTA at only 17 years old. Burnout continues to be a problem, especially in the WTA, today. I think the reason why the WTA schedule worked in the older days is because the Virginia Slims events filled the schedule in between the US Open and the WTA Finals. Once the WTA got rid of Virginia Slims as a sponsor, they should have added the midseason break, especially after the Capriati debacle. Most of the tournaments today that fill in the US Open-WTA Finals void are irrelevant and should be put at the beginning of the year. The ATP would have almost certainly followed (I mean, Wimbledon wouldn't want to have a late June/July Men's Championship and an August Women's Championship.) It makes me wonder had there been a midseason break if tennis players from older eras, especially in the WTA, would have had a longer career.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

The problem of having the slams back-to-back (and on different surfaces) is burnout. Some of the most famous examples of burnout were Borg retiring at age 25 and Jennifer Capriati leaving the WTA at only 17 years old. Burnout continues to be a problem, especially in the WTA, today. I think the reason why the WTA schedule worked in the older days is because the Virginia Slims events filled the schedule in between the US Open and the WTA Finals. Once the WTA got rid of Virginia Slims as a sponsor, they should have added the midseason break, especially after the Capriati debacle. Most of the tournaments today that fill in the US Open-WTA Finals void are irrelevant and should be put at the beginning of the year. The ATP would have almost certainly followed (I mean, Wimbledon wouldn't want to have a late June/July Men's Championship and an August Women's Championship.) It makes me wonder had there been a midseason break if tennis players from older eras, especially in the WTA, would have had a longer career.

You know that the WTA have introduced a rule to prevent 'burn out' for young WTA players, which I think is an excellent idea., in 1995.

 

[Fiero425]

The problem of having the slams back-to-back (and on different surfaces) is burnout. Some of the most famous examples of burnout were Borg retiring at age 25 and Jennifer Capriati leaving the WTA at only 17 years old. Burnout continues to be a problem, especially in the WTA, today. I think the reason why the WTA schedule worked in the older days is because the Virginia Slims events filled the schedule in between the US Open and the WTA Finals. Once the WTA got rid of Virginia Slims as a sponsor, they should have added the midseason break, especially after the Capriati debacle. Most of the tournaments today that fill in the US Open-WTA Finals void are irrelevant and should be put at the beginning of the year. The ATP would have almost certainly followed (I mean, Wimbledon wouldn't want to have a late June/July Men's Championship and an August Women's Championship.) It makes me wonder had there been a midseason break if tennis players from older eras, especially in the WTA, would have had a longer career.

Overall scheduling would become more important than "in my day" you played every event possible; including high paying exhibitions!