We are nearing the second week of the US Open, the last Grand Slam of the year. With most of the top players rubbing US Open off their schedule due to various reasons and other top seeds are struggling, This year's US Open draw is yawning open. What are all might be the reason for this struggle?
Though the fans are disappointed to see their favourite players withdrawing from the tournament, I think we should start accepting the fact that they aren't going to play forever, this is the right time for the youngsters, the gen-next players to take advantage of their absence, go deep and announce themselves. We already have few gen-next talents who are making the headlines in the recent times. It is only going to be interesting if they can make get through to the second week of the tournament.
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| Final major of the year- US Open |
Injury:
After playing awfully a lot, it is common for the players to feel fatigue. The gruelling three season is making the players tired or leaving them injured for the final season. Top players like Rafa Nadal have already spoken about how tight the schedule is and how difficult it is for the players to stay fit while travelling around the world for the sport. |
| Rafa at a press conference |
Change in technique:
Ever since the heavy wooden racquet was replaced by light graphite racquets, the tennis became a game of strength and power. Rather than hitting a ball with a flat stroke and driving it only forward, Players started to hit the ball with angled shots to create top spin making the shots harder to return. This game shift is making wrist injuries common among the top players. |
| The racquet plays major role in players injury |
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| Djokovic with his wrist injury |
Following Federer's path?
Remember how Federer did not play after 2016 Wimbledon? Remember how he came back stronger in 2017? No doubt the influence this guy has on the sport and the players are huge. May be the players are following the legend's path to the glory. That is- if you are not feeling 100%, skip the rest of the season, Take time off, practice hard, hit the gym more, stay fit and come back stronger the next season. Though most of the players disagree, this "might" be also a reason for the skip. |
| Federer did not play the second half of 2016 |
Age factor:
The years are gone where you will see the top players play hard like they did while they were in their early stages of their career. They are all ageing. They are all in their 30s where after so many years of playing tennis, you will not feel the same. your body is not going to cooperate even if your mind wants to. It is hard to accept but the truth is, they are going to grow vulnerable. They are going to fall sick more than they used to. They are going to stay off the tour to rest their body as much as they can. Take Federer again, he knows his body well and he knows how important for him to stay fit rather than playing all the tournaments. He was happy to skip the clay court season only to come back and win the Wimbledon where he feels he belong.The conclusion:
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| The Next generation players |
Though the fans are disappointed to see their favourite players withdrawing from the tournament, I think we should start accepting the fact that they aren't going to play forever, this is the right time for the youngsters, the gen-next players to take advantage of their absence, go deep and announce themselves. We already have few gen-next talents who are making the headlines in the recent times. It is only going to be interesting if they can make get through to the second week of the tournament.
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