Australian Open: Top male tennis players playing more matches than ever, amid an 'outbreak of injury'
Updated
Rafael Nadal has a point — elite male tennis players are now playing more matches than ever.
Nadal said tennis officials need to re-assess the tour's gruelling schedule after a leg injury forced him to retire during his Australian Open quarter-final.
The numbers appear to back him up. Players in the 1980s typically reached 10,000 games by the age of 25. The current generation reaches the same milestone at about 23.
Those are the findings of Stephanie Kovalchik, a data scientist with Tennis Australia's Game Insights Group.
"Players today at the top of the game are playing much more than previous decades," she said.
"The trend coincides directly with this period where we're seeing something close to an outbreak of injury in the sport so it does suggest that it is likely a contributing factor."
Nadal had a scan on his right leg on Wednesday and is expected to be out of action for three weeks.
The injury continues an alarming trend of top players breaking down, with Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Kei Nishikori and Stan Wawrinka all being sidelined at various times over the last 12 months.
Dr Kovalchik said it is not just the volume of matches, but also the style of play that is taking a toll.
"We know that the baseline game has become more and more dominant in the sport, that means longer rallies, more back and forth movement," she said.
Dr Kovalchik adds that hard court tournaments now make up about 60 per cent of elite tour events, a substantial increase on previous decades.
Meanwhile, players are staying on the tour for longer and peaking later.
"We haven't really had this amount of players in their 30s be successful and alongside that you have to wonder how long is that sustainable," he said.
Nadal's opponent on Tuesday night, Marin Cilic, said it is difficult to see how the schedule can be reduced.
"It's tough to say we're going to take out two months of the season, cut that many tournaments, tennis is such a global sport and everywhere we play people enjoy it," Cilic said.
He says it is up to players to navigate the demanding schedule as best they can.
"It's on all of us to try to take care of our bodies to try to pick the right schedule," he said.
Topics: sport, tennis, melbourne-3000, vic, australia
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