The brutal American hard court swing has caused the casualties to pile up as a depleted ATP and WTA field suffers from further tournament withdrawals.
There was a troubling trend growing through the busy summer of tennis, with players on both tours suffering repeated injury set-backs.
Several players including new US Open champions Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner missed the Paris Olympics through illness and injury, prising up questions about player welfare.
A busy grass court season saw a brief clay interlude in Paris before the American hard court swing got underway – a spate of surface changes that caused many players concerns.
The 2023 Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur suffered a major setback before the US Open, before her conqueror Marketa Vondrousova also pulled out after shoulder surgery.
As the tour continues its wicked pace, another former major finalist has been forced to close her 2024 season early for the second year running.
Elina Svitolina ends her 2024 season early due to injury struggles
Former world number three Elina Svitolina has decided to cut her 2024 season short after a year hampered by injury.
A tight defeat to Coco Gauff at the US Open came just weeks after Svitolina’s Olympic exploits saw her dispatch Jessica Pegula early in Paris.
Still able to compete with the top 30 after injuries and the birth of her daughter kept her off-court for a prolonged period, the Ukrainian is set to miss the remainder of the year, something she also decided to do last year.
She told Ukrainian outlet Sport UA: “I had a good season, I already finished it because I got injured. To finish this year in the top 30 is a good result, considering that I was injured more [of the time] this season.
“The Olympics went well,” the Tokyo bronze medallist said. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t bring home a medal, but there were great victories.
“Did I manage to approach the Games at the peak of my form, given the injury? No, I didn’t manage to do so at the peak. I didn’t play as I wanted in the following tournaments because I was injured. I wanted more, I wanted to play better.
“Now I will treat my injuries. I hope that I can start my next season better,” Svitolina concluded.
Former world number one Karolina Pliskova is also out until 2025 after ankle surgery.
Is Iga Swiatek right that the WTA schedule is not healthy for players?
World number one Iga Swiatek confronted the WTA over their scheduling several times after the Olympics, explaining that the surge in injuries were linked to the unforgiving amount of tournaments.
Swiatek attracted a lot of criticism, despite the fact that she’s absolutely spot on, with retired American Chris Evert agreeing her WTA grievances.
With players constantly jetting around the world to play tournaments, the top stars will have already played up to 60 matches at this point of the year, with events in Asia still to come, as well as the ATP and WTA finals.
Similarly, in this season of quick changes and endless play, players have little time to both recover and incorporate new things into their game.
While there are certainly worse jobs, player welfare feels unaddressed this summer.
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