The (ir)relevance of the ATP tour: Does tennis have too many tournaments?

Do Andy Murray, and the rest of the players, have any love for the ATP grind?

Over the last few years, there have been a lot of alleged complaints by players, coaches and associations about the crowded schedule of the ATP World Tour. But the ATP, while lending a patient hearing to these oft-legitimate complaints, seem in no way inclined to relent on the number of tournaments on their calendar.

A quick glance at the number of events in the season in 1999, 15 years ago, reveals that it was 73, while in 2014, it is 65. So what has changed? Almost everything, except probably the dimensions of the court and the next gen audience.

For starters, the balls used are different and the racquets are a lot broader, with the focus on sheer power rather than touch. And, of course, the general style of play has changed from an attacking serve and volley game to a wait-for-a-mistake baseline play.

Taking the above factors into account, can it be said that the players are playing too much these days? The season runs for almost 11 months, with the traditional Hopman Cup in Perth starting in the last week of December, up to the World Tour Finals in London in mid-November.

There are a number of ATP250 events all across the globe – from Chennai to Buenos Aires to Casablanca to Auckland. Every week, and this is not an exaggeration, there is at least one (and up to three) event(s) taking place somewhere around the globe. This may either be a Grand Slam, an ATP 1000 Masters Series event or one of the lesser cousins – ATP 500, ATP 250 or the Davis Cup. Also running parallel are a number of ATP Challenger events.

No wonder then that the players are complaining. The nature of play – the power game – is difficult to persist with week in, week out without it taking a toll on the body. Top players like Rafael Nadal have had knee issues and back issues, while others like del Potro have had wrist injuries, not to mention the likes of Andy Murray who had to undergo a back surgery last year. There are also a lot many injuries to other players in the top 100 which we don’t read about – simply because they are not in the spotlight.

Player fatigue is one thing, but what of audience fatigue? Sure, stadiums seem to be full, even in the ATP 250 events played in exotic locations, and that is understandable as they get to see the stars in flesh and blood once a year. But what of the television audience? Are we even bothered whether Nadal beats Dolgopolov in the Rio Open or Federer gets past Seppi in Halle?

As a neutral, the flood of ATP tournaments on the telly makes the whole thing a little irrelevant to me. An analogy would be a bilateral one-day international cricket series – just too much for a neutral.

Is there any clear-cut solution to this, though? The ATP could probably mix things up a bit, maybe even change the concept of ‘points to defend’ – and focus on quality of tournaments rather than quantity. But will the rank-and-file players, the journeymen, find that an appealing alternative? Clearly, there is no definitive answer.

Until we find the answer, though, we may just have to sit through the grind of the irrelevant ATP tour.