Coco Gauff Shares her Opinion on the Debate Surrounding Packed Tennis Scheduling

Coco Gauff hopes that the WTA and ATP find a way to shorten the schedule on tour.

Coco Gauff Shares her Opinion on the Debate Surrounding Packed Tennis Scheduling

Coco Gauff (Image via X/Coco Gauff Fans)

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Coco Gauff has admitted that players can’t keep up with the length of the WTA schedule. The World No.3 made the comments just after Iga Swiatek had hit out at the number of tournaments players are forced to play each season. That has now led to another round of debate about the ATP and WTA schedule.

The number of matches in the men’s and women’s tennis calendars has become a major talking point in recent years. Players such as Novak Djokovic have cut back on the number of tournaments they compete in each year due to their age, while the likes of Elina Svitolina and Beatriz Haddad Maia have ended their season early.

Starting from last season, the Women’s Tennis Association made it mandatory for top players to play in each Grand Slam, 10 WTA 1000 events, including the China Open in Beijing, and six 500-level tournaments. Also, some WTA 1000 tournaments have extended from a 7-day format to a 12-day event.

All these have stretched the tour, forcing players to have more injuries than usual. For instance, at the China Open, five players retired injured from matches on Monday (September 29). Swiatek revealed on that same day, after her opponent Camila Osorio retired, that she may skip some mandatory tournaments to protect her health.

During Gauff’s post-match press conference at the tournament, she was asked about her opinion on the scheduling issue. The former World No.2 revealed that players can’t keep up with the length of the schedule, while adding that however from a business standpoint a long schedule makes sense:

I guess from a business perspective, it might make sense. But from a player health perspective, I don’t really agree. I think I’ve basically played all the tennis I could, and it’s impossible to keep up with the six WTA 500s. It’s just impossible. Especially now with more and more two-week events, it doesn’t make sense to push your body. The way the season is structured, normally, apart from grass, you have two 1000s in a row and then a Grand Slam, a 500 before that.

Gauff is in the quarter-finals of the China Open after coming from a set down to beat Belinda Bencic in the round of 16. The American star was down 4-6, 3-4 before rallying back to win the tie, keeping her hopes of defending the title. She’s seeking just her second title of the season and first since claiming the China Open.

Coco Gauff hopes to see a solution to the hectic tennis schedule

Coco Gauff went through a very rough patch in her career this season after winning the French Open title in June. The World No.1 failed to win a match in two tournaments, including the Wimbledon Championship. But she didn’t get much rest after reaching three consecutive clay-court tournament finals, and that was what led to the struggle.

Coco Gauff (via X/Ground Press)
Coco Gauff (via X/Ground Press)

During the aforementioned press conference, she admitted that she would love to see a solution to the length of the tennis schedule. The American star added that the burden of running the professional tournaments rests on the shoulders of players:

It doesn’t always make sense to play the WTA 500s knowing that you’re probably going to play four weeks of tennis, and then have to play a Grand Slam, fulfill sponsor commitments, things like that. I would definitely like to see a solution in my life on tour to shorten the season. I also think it hurts some of the WTA 500s.

Gauff will face Eva Lys in the quarter-finals of the China Open. Should she beat the German star, she will face Amanda Anisimova or Jasmine Paolini in the semi-finals. She’s the defending champion of the tournament and will be aiming to win the tournament after a poor run during the grass and North American hard-court swings.

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