Milos Raonic criticizes ATP for a grueling schedule

Milos Raonic returned to professional tennis after a long layoff by beating Victor Troicki in straight sets at the Japan Open yesterday. Milos Raonic was returning from a surgery on his left wrist. The injurt forced him to withdraw from five tournaments and concede walkovers in two of the tournaments.  Despite securing his first win after a seven-week absence, Raonic slammed the ATP federation, for a brutal and grueling schedule.

“It’s been very frustrating. I’ve had more than a dozen different injuries and reasons that have kept me away from tournaments. That hasn’t been fun because I haven’t been able to focus on tennis. I’ve been focusing on ‘Can I play today or can’t I?’ rather than, `What do I need to do with my tennis game?”‘ said Milos Raonic in his post match interview.

Raonic’s injury woes have forced him out of the top ten, slipping from third to 12. Milos Raonic is just another name from a handful of players, who have had injury related breaks this season. Wawrinka, Nishikori, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, all missed the US open this year. He added that the issue was that the tournaments were spread out across the globe. Such a hectic schedule really pushed their physical limits and shortened their careers.

“I believe out of those of us that finished top five last year, I’m the only guy still trying to play this year, and none of the top five played the U.S. Open,” Raonic said. “Maybe it’s testament to some kind of reform being needed for the sake of players’ careers, and being able to provide a certain caliber of tennis for spectators. Scheduling, the length of the year and how spread out — geographically and throughout the year — the tournaments are, especially the top tournaments for the top players, is something that deserves a second look. It’s hard to peak four times of the year for Grand Slams, let alone for other tournaments.”

The players have the option to choose which tournaments to play, and just like Federer did this season, they can opt out of tournaments, to stay physically fit. The issue has been raised on a number of occasions. But there hasn’t been much change in the schedule of the ATP calendar.

Raonic will play Yuichi Sugita of Japan next, who overcame Benoit Paire, after the Frenchman retired during the second set due to fatigue.