Injuries have become a dominant feature on both the women’s and men’s tennis tours in recent years and two factors are often cited as the primary reason.
World No 2 Carlos Alcaraz has been forced to pull out of this week’s tournament in Barcelona with a wrist problem after he opted to play back-to-back tournaments in Monte Carlo and Barcelona, while British No 1’s Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu have struggled to spend lengthy spells on court in the last year without suffering from physical issues.
Former top 10 player Holger Rune is on the comeback trail after he sustained a serious injury at the back end of 2025, with the growing list of players who are sidelined creating a big debate over the sustainability of tennis.
The chase for ranking points and prize money compels players who are not at the very top of the game to play when they are not fully fit, with the ongoing debate over the hectic tournament schedule a gripe most players struggle to contend with.
No player is compelled to play in any event, but there is a drive to chase the next ranking goal or fund your career and that means tournaments are happening all over the world and former British No 1 Tim Henman suggests that mindset needs to change.
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“You know, there’s so much tennis going on in different parts of the world and too much of it is irrelevant,” Henman told Tennis365 at a Sky Sports event in London.
“You look at a week in February and you have Doha, Dubai, Rotterdam, Acapulco, Buenos Aires. What does it mean to a fan? And I think that’s where you could shorten things up.
“I understand why the Masters 1000s have really gone towards 12 days, but I don’t think it’s conducive to a good calendar for the players.
“At the moment, it doesn’t provide a clear narrative for the fan so certain weeks where there is no tennis are a good thing for everybody.
“It gives the players an opportunity to rest and it gives fans the chance to build the excitement about the next event on the calendar.
“I think we have great assets in tennis, led by the four Grand Slams. The Masters 1000 events are good concepts to get the best players but I think they should be eight or nine days, not 12. Then you can build that product.”
Many players agree with Henman on this point, but the counter-argument comes when star names like Alcaraz use their weeks off to play lucrative exhibition events that boost their bank balances.
It remains to be seen whether a shortened calendar that may be designed to reduce injuries would, in fact, lead to player taking on more travel and matches as they cash in on their star status on the exhibition circuit.
The second talking point on injury is balls and more significantly, the amount of changes around the balls on the tours.
Dunlop balls have been criticised in recent weeks for fluffing up and getting too heavy too quickly, with former British No 1 Greg Rusedski among those leading the calls for change.
“Can we not just have one ball for every tournament that players are happy with,” said Rusedski on a recent episode of his podcast.
“Stick a logo on the same ball if you have a sponsorship deal, but these Dunlop balls are terrible. They are fluffing up and then you change them after seven games and it completely shifts the balance of a match.
“I have been talking about tennis balls and why they are not good enough since I was playing so why is this still going on.”
The change in balls has been cited as a factor in injury issues as players try and fail to adapt to new conditions from week to week, with Daniil Medvedev and Aryna Sabalenka among the big names who have complained publicly about the sub-standard balls being used in the professional game in recent months.
Every tournament will sign sponsorship deals with ball manufacturers and that revenue is part of the reason why different brands are used from week to week, but if it is a factor in injuries, changes need to be made.
What we don’t want is to see the sport’s biggest names in the treatment room and any moves we can take to stop that should be explored.
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