John Lloyd has proposed a drastic change to the tennis calendar following recent injury issues.
The tennis calendar has been widely debated in recent years, particularly due to the introduction of two-week Masters 1000 tournaments.
Players including Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz have been critical of the tennis calendar during this time, with many different solutions proposed to these complaints.
Alcaraz has withdrawn from Wimbledon this year, as one of many players currently struggling with injury, and now former mixed doubles Grand Slam champion Lloyd has proposed a change to the Australian Open as a result of this.
John Lloyd proposes changes to the tennis calendar after Wimbledon withdrawals
Lloyd believes that the current injury issues tennis has are only going to get worse, something he told Tennis365.
The Briton stated that he would like the Australian Open to move to March as a result, but Lloyd was aware that this is not something that is likely to happen, as he called out the ‘insanity’ of the current calendar.
If you were in charge of tennis, what is the first rule you would change?
“It’s going to get worse,” said Lloyd. “An ideal world — which will never happen — is that they move the Australian Open to March, but it’ll never happen. But at least the better compromise is they make the Grand Slams best of three [sets].
“And it’s not the physicality of the matches at the Slams, although that is extreme. In my opinion, it’s the preparation. That’s where the body breaks down.
“Because if you look at it logically, tennis is one of the most rigorous sports there is. Tennis, there’s a break at the end of the year, but it’s really for six weeks maximum.
“You get the six weeks off, and people say that’s a long time, but it isn’t. You take two weeks off to kind of recharge, and even then, you’re still on empty, and then you’ve got to start preparing, not just for a tournament like Queen’s, you’ve got to prepare for a major!
“So you’ve got to go from being dormant, almost hibernating, to go to the extreme to get ready for possibly seven, four-hour matches. You’re putting your body through this ridiculous turbocharge without gradually going into it.
“You finish that one, and then you have a week or so off, and then you have Indian Wells and Miami back-to-back. You have a little break, then you’ve got to start preparing for the French [Open] and Wimbledon.
“Then you recover from that, you have a couple of weeks off, then you’ve got to recover for the US Open. It’s insanity.”
Lloyd added, “Best-of-five, the physicality of these guys now… best-of-five in my day is the same as best-of-three now, in terms of what they do with their bodies and the physicality. They’re animals — and I mean that in the best way. But they are going to break down, and it will happen more and more.”
How many players have already withdrawn from Wimbledon this year?
The current injury situation tennis is dealing with is evident by the numbers of withdrawals Wimbledon has already seen this year, with Alcaraz one of 13 players to have already pulled out of the grass court major.
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Lloyd’s point about best-of-five sets is also displayed by there being nine withdrawals from the men’s singles draw, compared to just four in the women’s so far.
Joining Alcaraz on the men’s withdrawal list are both Lorenzo Musetti and Holger Rune, who are dealing with long-term injury issues.
The other players to have pulled out of the event are Arthur Cazaux, Valentin Vacherot, Sebastian Korda, Tomas Machac, Reilly Opelka and Eliot Spizzirri.
While in the women’s singles tournament, Hailey Baptiste, Sonay Kartal, Victoria Mboko and Veronika Kudermetova have withdrawn from Wimbledon.
Both main draw singles tournaments at Wimbledon will get underway on Monday, June 29.
