The period following a Grand Slam is often a bit of a lull, but it is being felt more than ever following the events of Wimbledon this year.
Wimbledon was an utter delight this year, with Jannik Sinner claiming the men’s title and Linda Noskova winning her first-ever Grand Slam title.
There were plenty of talking points and it felt like the entire world had their eye on tennis following the events of the grass court event.
However, that could not be further from the case as the ATP Tour has thrust itself back into a clay court swing, with events in Umag, Gstaad, and Bastad.
The three ATP 250 tournaments are often lowkey events, but something feels very different this year.
Only six members of the top 20 are playing at the three events, which take place in Sweden, Croatia, and Switzerland. The likes of Flavio Cobolli, Casper Ruud, and Alexander Bublik have decided to play the events, but they are certainly lacking in star power.
That’s not necessarily a problem, as ATP 250 events are usually for the lower-ranked players in the top 100, but they don’t appear to be playing it either.
Only 34 players from the top 100 have decided to play an event directly following Wimbledon, so there is little demand for them – and it’s quite easy to see why.
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The clay court events following Wimbledon is not only a big risk to players’ health, with a completely different play style needed for the clay to the grass, but it also really doesn’t make sense for players to focus on playing on the dirt right now.
While some clay court specialists will likely flourish at the events, why on earth would anyone preparing for the North American hardcourt swing want to play on the dirt?
With two Masters events coming up at the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Open, as well as several ATP 500 events, including Winston-Salem and Washington, players would clearly be better suited to getting in some hardcourt preparation.
The clay court swing is a major section of the ATP Tour, with three Masters events and a Grand Slam between April and June. These events should either be moved there and they should be scrapped altogether.
With players complaining about the amount of tournaments on the busy ATP Tour schedule, it’s clear that the events in Gastaad, Bastad, and Umag should be the first to go.
If they are not scrapped completely, they should at least be slotted in with the European clay court swing instead.
The post The ATP Tour needs to make a major scheduling change after what’s happened post-Wimbledon appeared first on Tennis365.
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