Much has been said over the past few weeks about the length of the tennis season, especially as the final Grand Slam ended over a month ago.
Do you follow tennis after the US Open? Tell us your opinion of the tennis calendar in this week’s edition of Open Forum Friday!
Has the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour’s new Roadmap plan done a good job this season? Or is the tennis calendar still too long?
Everyone, thank you for participating in this week’s discussion. Have a great weekend!
Only hardcore fans care really. #Tennis Channel has made the Fall much better. I think Shanghai is totally underrated!
Certainly I follow tennis after the US Open. A more interesting question would be: “Do you follow tennis after the season-ending championships?”
I do since I have TC. I think it’s great! If you get sick of it, you don’t watch.
I follow tennis the whole season by checking results at WTA and ATP sites of each round for each tournament and also the news both during the fall and after the YEC. I don’t have the tennis channel but I have the live streaming at TennisTV.com for most of the WTA and ATP tournaments.
I do, although not as closely. I am looking forward to Dona in particular.
My answer depends on how you define “follow tennis”:
1. Attending tournaments: I only attend Birmingham or Eastbourne.
2. Watching live tennis on TV: The BBC doesn’t televise any women’s tennis after Wimbledon or the Olympics, so that is my answer. (The last live tennis of either gender that I get to watch on TV is the men’s seniors at the Royal Albert Hall in December.)
3. Watching recorded tennis: I watch at least half an hour every day from my own video-archives, and I order matches from the current year on DVD after the season-ending championships.
4. Following live scores: I do this for members of my Eternal Fanship up to the season-ending championships.
5. Following results and reading news-articles: I do this after the season-ending championships for selected ITF tournaments (with Eternal Fanship interest), junior-tournaments (e.g. Eddie Herr and the Orange Bowl), and the Australian Open wild-card play-offs in December.
While I thinks it’s great to watch tennis in the Fall, the players should have a shorter season. This could be a time for players outside of the Top 10/20 to showcase themselves/earn points. The top players could only play the mandatory tourneys and some of the others, more or less, depending on how their year has been. If the ATP/WTA won’t change the schedule, players may have to adjust their own schedule. I’m sure there are some tourneys they could skip throughout the season.
Players should indeed adjust their own schedules. For some players, it may be best to end their season with the US Open.
The problem is that Beijing is now a Premier Mandatory, and Doha/Bali are mandatory for those who qualify.
I do follow tennis year round, but I think the season is too arduous for the players. Because of the need to maintain their point levels, and the fact that no existing tournament wants to be dropped from the schedule, players are under pressure to play as much as they can (in addition to being required to play certain tournaments). For players at the top, who often go deep into tournaments, this can mean a lot of play. Although players are in better shape than ever, they are also pushing their bodies harder than in the past. To top it all off, they deal with jet lag, restaurant food, and living out of suitcases for most of the year. No wonder there is burnout and injury. I would like to see the players’ organizations not only require a minimum number of tournaments, but also set maximums. That way, players could concentrate on the surfaces where they do best, and take a break when it’s best for them. It would also lessen the impact of injuries, since a player could take his/her yearly “down time” to recover from an injury. If that idea proves unworkable, then some tournaments should be eliminated, and the “year end” tournaments should be in October.
Yep, I watch year round and I’m sure it’s only hard core tennis lovers who do. Tennis is the reason I subscribe to the Tennis Chanel.
I would love to eat, drink and breathe tennis. If I’m not playing myself I at least need a fix and watch something….anything on my computer or on TV. I’m constantly looking for free streaming on the pc. Anybody have any ideas about that?
I usually don’t watch tennis after the US Open. Not that I don’t want to, but usually I don’t see it on.
I love ‘Tennis’ and all that is coming our way…soon…However, some of us do not get the Tennis Channel…sure wish I could….I utilize the internet for updates…and I’m grateful that I can….Keep it coming!!!
To Diane: If you own your residence try one of the satellite companies. You can get Tennis Channel for way cheaper than cable. And, you don’t have to buy a sports package like you do w/some cable companies.