Tennis has traditionally been derided as a “sissy game”. Of course, such petty jibes do not even deserve a riposte, but when six of the top-ranked players pull out of matches and tournaments, citing injuries and illness, in the first week of the new season, that is not great for the sport’s reputation.
First, we saw the world No 1 Serena Williams, who has not played a Tour-level match since falling to Roberta Vinci in the semi-final of the US Open last September, retire from her Hopman Cup match last Tuesday with knee inflammation, a day after opting out of her first match.
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World No 2 Simona Halep is playing in Sydney this week but had to pull out of Brisbane last week with swelling and soreness in her left Achilles tendon. The Brisbane tournament also saw world No 3 Garbine Muguruza and Maria Sharapova, the world No 5, withdraw with injuries.
Muguruza was trailing American Varvara Lepchenko 6-7, 0-1 in their second-round clash when she retired, citing an ongoing plantar fasciitis ailment to her left foot, while Sharapova hurt her forearm in practise and had “to precautionarily withdraw with the Australian Open starting in just a matter of time”.
Agnieszka Radwanska, he world No 4, won in Shenzhen last week but has pulled out of this week’s tournament in Sydney with a left leg injury, while No 6 Petra Kvitova, who battled mono all of last season, had to withdraw from Shenzhen and Sydney due to a stomach virus.
The list of the wounded does not stop there. Lucie Safarova, the world No 9, has already announced her withdrawal from the Australian Open because of the lingering effects of a bacterial infection she picked up last year, while Sloane Stephens, the winner in Auckland on Saturday, has withdrawn from Hobart due to a virus.
With the Australian Open barely a week away, fans will be concerned. But perhaps they should not. It is unlikely that, Safarova aside, any of the other ladies will miss the year’s opening grand slam tournament.
Most of these withdrawals, as Sharapova said, are “precautionary”. The players are just making sure they do not do anything to jeopardise their availability for a major, where the prize money and points are much greater, as is the publicity.
That prioritising is understandable, but why should the fans in Brisbane, Sydney or Shenzhen be short-changed? Why should they have to watch a Ysaline Bonaventure, ranked No 164 who does not even have a photograph on her WTA profile page, or Margarita Gasparyan when they bought tickets to watch Sharapova and Halep?
This is not a great advertisement for women’s tennis and consumer advocacy groups might have a thing or two to say if this trend continues.
Who is hot?
Victoria Azarenka: Ravaged by injuries in 2015 and 2016, the former world No 1 looked like the player of old in Brisbane last week, dropping only 13 games in four matches as she cruised to the title. In the final, she brushed aside Angelique Kerber 6-3, 6-1 for her first title since Cincinnati in August, 2013. The two-time Australian Open champion should be one to watch in Melbourne when the year's opening grand slam event gets under way next week.
Who is not?
David Ferrer: The defending champion at Doha arrived after a good outing at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi over the New Year. But Ferrer was a big disappointment at the Qatar Open, losing to Ukraine's Illya Marchenko, an opponent ranked No 94 in the world, after winning the opening set. Marchenko, 28, eventually made it to the semi-finals, beating Teymuraz Gabashvili and Jeremy Chardy along the way and has climbed to No 78 in the rankings, while Ferrer has slipped a place to No 8.
Men's tour: Appearing in his 16th straight final, Novak Djokovic routed Rafael Nadal 6-1, 6-2 in the Qatar Open to become only the 10th member of the elite 60-title club. Stan Wawrinka cruised to his fourth Chennai title, defeating Borna Coric 6-3, 7-5 in the final. But Roger Federer could not defend his Brisbane crown, outgunned 6-4, 6-4 by the man he had defeated 12 months ago – big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic.
Women's tour: A day after securing a return to No 4 in the rankings, which guarantees her a coveted spot among top four seeds at the Australian Open, Agnieszka Radwanska cruised to her 18th career title, defeating Alison Riske 6-3, 6-2 in the Shenzhen Open final. Sloane Stephens also won, edging Caroline Wozniacki in the semis before downing Julia Gorges 7-5, 6-2 in the Auckland final. Victoria Azarenka crushed Angelique Kerber 6-3, 6-1 for her 18th career title in Brisbane.
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