‘Tennis Needs..’- Martina Navratilova Minces No Words as She Identifies a Desperate Requirement for the Sport

The tennis calendar shows each player which tournaments will take place each year and how long they will have to be active. This year, the tournaments went on till the end of November as the Davis Cup came to a conclusion. Martina Navratilova felt the year was too long for the players and talked about the span of the season since she hung up the racket.  

Along with Navratilova’s comments, several players of the WTA have come out to talk about the issues with the revised calendar. They’re not alone in the issue of a long season as it continues to plague each player.

Martina Navratilova on the long tennis season

The tennis season begins early in January and continues till the end of November. Players receive short breaks in between certain tournaments, but many crash out due to fatigue. The Davis Cup took place right after the ATP Finals, and many players had to play in the tournament without time to rest. The increasing length of the season astounded Martina Navratilova as the Czech-American talked about it on her ‘X’ page.

She first congratulated the winner of the Davis Cup and then talked about the tennis calendar getting worse. “Congrats to Italy for winning #DavisCup, but seriously- this tennis calendar is insanely long! Been a problem for decades and if anything it’s getting worse. Tennis needs an offseason that’s longer than what we have now…hello????“

Navratilova has added her voice for the many players talking about the hectic season as they face tournaments one after another and the number does not seem to be reducing anytime soon.

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Not much has turned out in the favor of the players, as the WTA calendar has only added more tournaments to play. The increment in the tournaments will elongate the season, much to the chagrin of Iga Swiatek.

WTA star speaks out against calendar reforms

According to the new calendar, the number of WTA 1000 events will increase to ten. Seven of them will last nearly two weeks, and four new WTA 500 tournaments will be launched. This brings the season total to 17 events. The expansion will also result in an increase in the number of mandatory WTA 1000 events. Players are perplexed as they analyze the toll of such demanding schedules.

Iga Swiatek talked about the reforms of the calendar and said that there is much room for improvement in the dialogue between the players and the association. A handful of players knew about the reform, and it came as a surprise to many. Since the calendar was increased with the players not in the discussion, Swiatek was disappointed with the changes. 

Navratilova spoke out in the same line, and the hectic calendar is coming into the focus of the fans as well. How will the ATP, WTA, and ITF respond?

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