The unforgiving US Open marches on, with just four ATP Tour and four WTA Tour players remaining in the competition.
It is the fourth and final Grand Slam of 2024, in what has been a very long season for those currently remaining in the US Open.
They will, of course, be hoping their journey in New York will end in success, with a much-needed break potentially in store following the finals.
The year has, however, witnessed some major withdrawals due to injuries, which have often arrived due to the huge number of events taking place.
WTA world number Iga Swiatek says the season is too long, while Nick Kyrgios wants a Grand Slam set rule change.
Andy Roddick rages at ‘stupid’ ATP and WTA issue
Whether the tour organisers listen to claims from the likes of Swiatek remains to be seen, with many star names having withdrawn from the Grand Slams in 2024 due to injury.
Former men’s star Andy Roddick has now weighed in on the debate surrounding the 11.5-month-long tour.
“It’s so stupid, honestly,” Roddick told Intelligencer. “And until the players actually unionize, then they’re doing themselves a disservice. They have no negotiating power.
“They can just complain and ask for things to get fixed but, at the end of the day, someone’s going to acquire a tournament and want to make more money for having acquired that tournament.
“The biggest thing I’ve seen recently that is just absurd to me is adding weeks to all of the Masters 1000s. Now, all of a sudden, you’ve added five weeks to the calendar. Then, having some tournament director tell you, ‘Well, you have more days off during the tournament.’
“You would rather have those days off at the end of a year, have a month to recover, to train how you’d like, to actually choose where and when you have those off days, because an off day on the road is not the same as an off day at home.
“You’re not going to go lift nonstop for a week straight if you’re also in a tournament. It makes no sense.”
Will the ATP and WTA make schedule changes?
Ons Jabeur, who lost the 2022 US Open final, was forced to miss this year’s event due to injury, while the likes of Karolina Pliskova and Grigor Dimitrov withdrew throughout the tournament.
The huge number of matches is clearly taking its toll on the players, many of whom still have a lot of tournaments to get through before the end of 2024.
Many did, of course, also have to squeeze in an Olympics within their schedules, with others having no option but to turn the opportunity down.
Tennis legend Andy Murray was among those to have lost his lengthy battle with injury, having retired from the sport following the Paris Olympics.
Fellow icon Novak Djokovic meanwhile withdrew from the French Open due to injury, with Jack Draper the latest to have an injury issue on the big stage.
Draper was worried about an injury during his US Open quarter-final match against Alex de Minaur, although he managed to pull through and secure a semi-final spot.
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