Andy Roddick has been supremely complimentary about Jannik Sinner this season, but was left somewhat critical after his decision-making in the past week.
Having previously lauded the mid-season change that he thought had led to all his current success, it is only right that if he does something more questionable, the pundit and Grand Slam champion calls him out.
However, on this occasion, it is likely more his team that has made the error, which he now thinks may have aggravated in his recent injury.
Andy Roddick questions Jannik Sinner injury
Speaking on the Served with Andy Roddick podcast, as released by Tennis.com, the former world number one was naturally sympathetic to the influx of injuries that many players suffered at last week’s Madrid Open.
Stars like Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Jiri Lehecka and Jannik Sinner were all clearly hampered by ailments throughout the tournament, yet it was the latter which drew the most interest for Roddick.
After all, with the Italian having admitted that the injury was far more severe than first thought, the 41-year-old was left questioning why the youngster was working so relentlessly on what should have been his week off.
He noted: ‘Sinner was training in the gym in Madrid, lifting because he had to do his lifting cycles during these events because there’s no off time.
‘Am I an idiot for thinking that these weeks would be better spent intentionally being somewhere where you’re not switching time zones, surfaces, et cetera?’
Is the ATP Tour schedule asking too much of players?
To those outside of tennis, or perhaps not quite as familiar with the normal tennis calendar, I think many would be shocked to see how hard these players work.
Especially those at the apex of the sport, who can regularly expect to go deep in almost every tournament they feature in.
Take Sinner for example.
The 22-year-old has featured in just six tournaments this season, winning three already. A great achievement, but that marks three deep runs consisting of around four straight weeks of pretty much non-stop tennis.
And that’s without including his semi-final at Monte Carlo and Indian Wells, as well as his quarter-final in the most recent Madrid Open.
There is no scope for a player to simply relax and let their body heal without completely missing out on an entire tournament or key training, yet with the rankings system so stringent, that could prove suicidal.
We all love the unrelenting spectacle of tennis, but the physical pressure it puts on these athletes is intense. Perhaps a solution, or some kind of tournament cap could be implemented, to actually force these players to take their safety into greater consideration.
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