Gauff Argues For Chance To 'Miss One Or Two' Mandatory Events Amid Schedule Dilemma

Tuesday, 20 February 2024 at 02:00

byZachary Wimer

Coco Gauff would like to see players be permitted to miss one or two mandatory events because of the exhausting nature of the sport.

Tennis is quite literally a sport that never stops. It begins in January and effectively ends in November, making December the only free month for players. While many focus mostly on Grand Slams, they also have to compete in tournaments in between, especially ATP and WTA 1000 tournaments, which are mandatory.

It is a sport that takes up most of the year for most players. They can organize their calendar any way they like, but it does kind of force them to keep playing continuously. They can't just take two months off and then jump right back into it.

It's why Gauff would like to see the sport be more flexible. There are mandatory events that all players who are able to play must play, but she thinks it would be good if players were permitted to miss one or two of those events, as she said ahead of the 2024 Dubai Championships, which is one of those tournaments.

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"Me personally, I think maybe missing one or two should be allowed with the way our sport is. Also at the same time I get the business side of it and media side of it, how to promote our sport. You want the best players there. It's just about adapting."

There are many factors in play when making these decisions. It is a tricky spot for players, and sometimes they just want a break. Gauff certainly might have been better off skipping the Qatar Open in Doha, considering it was a shocking loss to Katerina Siniakova.

Ultimately, as with everything in tennis, adapting is crucial. However, it's not always possible to adapt, and that's why players try to raise awareness, and push the WTA into making a decision, which makes their lives easier.

"I think at the end of the day players should just make decisions what's best for them and not think about ranking or any of that. At the end of the day it's just up to the individual person to decide what's important to them and adapt from there."