Tennis League All Thread

[Jating]

Breaking news!
https://www.foxsports.com.au/tennis/ash-barty-retires-from-tennis-tennis-news-2022-latest-update-french-open-wimbledon-ashleigh-barty/news-story/0bc29eb5bc08cb48406efa51b19f1953
Tennis player Ashleigh Barty, despite her very young age (25 years), has announced her retirement from competitions.
she is the current number one in the WTA rankings!

Really did not see this coming. She is young, on top of her game and always looks so positive. Big surprise for me.

Bad news never come alone so now it is confirmed that Nadal has cracked rib. Meaning 4 to 6 weeks pause and missing all the tournaments leading to RG where he counted on many points, especially with the form this season. Even RG could come into question. How quickly it all changes in professional sports.

Oh wow, I didn't see this coming from Ash because she still can compete as she is still very young.

And as we have suspected on Nadal, he is injured and that is the main reason why he lost the finals of the Indian Wells. 4-6 weeks is long pause and then he has to nurse himself before the RG. So it's a big disappointment on him, I guess father time is calling on Nadal now, just a matter of time.

[buwaytress]

Just found out meself about Barty, feels pretty rare an event but I haven't followed tennis properly but hey, too short for us, just enough for her, fair game. Reminds us that these are people in the end and with goals and dreams, but damn, she went out on a high, didn't she? Aussies hearts be broken.

P.S. Wouldn't be ruling out a future return, though if she does, hope better than Hingis did on her second, third return? Ultimately incomparable of course.

[Cnut237]

I also have to say about Barty... it's not the first time a tennis player has done this. And she was picking and choosing her tournaments before this anyway.

I think the authorities have to take a look at the tour, it's just ridiculous now, men and women. The calendar has so many tournaments crammed in, to make some $$$, but for the players it's basically a full year of relentless tennis, moving around the world from week to week, with the only respite a couple of weeks off over Christmas... which no doubt gets cut short anyway as pre-season training needs to start ahead of the January events. It's crazy.

Not sure how much this feeds into the Barty decision, but it has to play a part. Probably also with some of the mental health issues we've had, Osaka etc.

[babygun]

Just found out meself about Barty, feels pretty rare an event but I haven't followed tennis properly but hey, too short for us, just enough for her, fair game. Reminds us that these are people in the end and with goals and dreams, but damn, she went out on a high, didn't she? Aussies hearts be broken.

P.S. Wouldn't be ruling out a future return, though if she does, hope better than Hingis did on her second, third return? Ultimately incomparable of course.

Also heard the news this morning and didn't saw it coming. I don't think she will come back for a third time, she seems pretty convinced this time that it has been enough and she wants to enjoy life. She earned around 22 million $, so that's also a quite nice amount to do something lol!

[BitcoinAccepted]

Just found out meself about Barty, feels pretty rare an event but I haven't followed tennis properly but hey, too short for us, just enough for her, fair game. Reminds us that these are people in the end and with goals and dreams, but damn, she went out on a high, didn't she? Aussies hearts be broken.

P.S. Wouldn't be ruling out a future return, though if she does, hope better than Hingis did on her second, third return? Ultimately incomparable of course.

Also heard the news this morning and didn't saw it coming. I don't think she will come back for a third time, she seems pretty convinced this time that it has been enough and she wants to enjoy life. She earned around 22 million $, so that's also a quite nice amount to do something lol!

It is very strange that she has already stopped at this age. We have seen tennis players in the past who have stopped using it because they were physically unable to handle it. But then we are talking about the age category of approximately 25. That's very different from Barty. She seems quite convinced of her choice, but perhaps it would have been more convenient if she would just take a time out, then she could always come back to it and after a few months call it quits.

[SirLancelot]

Just found out meself about Barty, feels pretty rare an event but I haven't followed tennis properly but hey, too short for us, just enough for her, fair game. Reminds us that these are people in the end and with goals and dreams, but damn, she went out on a high, didn't she? Aussies hearts be broken.

P.S. Wouldn't be ruling out a future return, though if she does, hope better than Hingis did on her second, third return? Ultimately incomparable of course.

Also heard the news this morning and didn't saw it coming. I don't think she will come back for a third time, she seems pretty convinced this time that it has been enough and she wants to enjoy life. She earned around 22 million $, so that's also a quite nice amount to do something lol!

It is a big news for tennis fans because no one was expecting this news from Barty at this time she can do something more for many years, but we can't talk about this as she can give better reasons about her this decision most chance she is going to announce on Thursday officially which is really shocking, but sadly we have to accept his this decision.
 
We have another bad news now Rafael Nadal is also having Rib injury and now with this he is going out of tennis for five to six weeks which is surely not good news for tennis community as Djokovic is already out just because of having no vaccination and now Rafael Nadal is also out. https://twitter.com/RafaelNadal/status/1506273644917530629?s=20&t=3mXD0MtPBJEaBtFNpYSe1Q

[aoluain]

I also have to say about Barty... it's not the first time a tennis player has done this. And she was picking and choosing her tournaments before this anyway.

I think the authorities have to take a look at the tour, it's just ridiculous now, men and women. The calendar has so many tournaments crammed in, to make some $$$, but for the players it's basically a full year of relentless tennis, moving around the world from week to week, with the only respite a couple of weeks off over Christmas... which no doubt gets cut short anyway as pre-season training needs to start ahead of the January events. It's crazy.

Not sure how much this feeds into the Barty decision, but it has to play a part. Probably also with some of the mental health issues we've had, Osaka etc.

The thing is though that they dont have to play them all, certainly not the top
players if it about earning a living.

If its about points and growing a ranking then yes its essential to play as
many tournaments as possible. It is demanding sport with the global travels and
Barty did say before that it didnt make her happy to be away from home for
too long, I'm sure this is the case for a lot of players.

[Trofo]

I also have to say about Barty... it's not the first time a tennis player has done this. And she was picking and choosing her tournaments before this anyway.

I think the authorities have to take a look at the tour, it's just ridiculous now, men and women. The calendar has so many tournaments crammed in, to make some $$$, but for the players it's basically a full year of relentless tennis, moving around the world from week to week, with the only respite a couple of weeks off over Christmas... which no doubt gets cut short anyway as pre-season training needs to start ahead of the January events. It's crazy.

Not sure how much this feeds into the Barty decision, but it has to play a part. Probably also with some of the mental health issues we've had, Osaka etc.

The thing is though that they dont have to play them all, certainly not the top
players if it about earning a living.

If its about points and growing a ranking then yes its essential to play as
many tournaments as possible. It is demanding sport with the global travels and
Barty did say before that it didnt make her happy to be away from home for
too long, I'm sure this is the case for a lot of players.

It can be even less grueling for the best players. There is a rule that you only get so much points from lower lever tournaments. Not sure about details but you only get points to win ATP 250 & ATP 500 categories tournaments maybe a couple of times per season. So you basically end up playing just grand slams and ATP 1000 tournaments. Still a lot of tennis but nowhere near every week. Thay is actually about 25 weeks of tennis, roughly half a year.

I would be more than happy if I needed to work just half a year,

[casperBGD]

~snip
It can be even less grueling for the best players. There is a rule that you only get so much points from lower lever tournaments. Not sure about details but you only get points to win ATP 250 & ATP 500 categories tournaments maybe a couple of times per season. So you basically end up playing just grand slams and ATP 1000 tournaments. Still a lot of tennis but nowhere near every week. Thay is actually about 25 weeks of tennis, roughly half a year.

I would be more than happy if I needed to work just half a year,

you cannot have more than 18 tournaments counted in one calendar year - 365 days (you can play more, but only best 18 will count towards ranking)
so, basically ATP 250 rarely counts for top players, with four slams, final master and masters tournaments (basically 14 in a season), you have only four tournaments out from those that could be countable, and you would want them to be ATP 500

[zidanw]

Now that the coronavirus is also slowly extinguishing, can all tournaments soon be played again under the watchful eye of the spectators? Especially at Grand Slam tournaments that was a really strange sight to see. It sometimes seemed like a training party because there was no cheering from the audience. And there are also players who will perform better if there is a large audience. It remains strange that Djokovic simply still does not get vaccinated and that he is refused, unimaginable that he has his own ego so high.

[Joca97]

Just found out meself about Barty, feels pretty rare an event but I haven't followed tennis properly but hey, too short for us, just enough for her, fair game. Reminds us that these are people in the end and with goals and dreams, but damn, she went out on a high, didn't she? Aussies hearts be broken.

P.S. Wouldn't be ruling out a future return, though if she does, hope better than Hingis did on her second, third return? Ultimately incomparable of course.

Also heard the news this morning and didn't saw it coming. I don't think she will come back for a third time, she seems pretty convinced this time that it has been enough and she wants to enjoy life. She earned around 22 million $, so that's also a quite nice amount to do something lol!

It is a big news for tennis fans because no one was expecting this news from Barty at this time she can do something more for many years, but we can't talk about this as she can give better reasons about her this decision most chance she is going to announce on Thursday officially which is really shocking, but sadly we have to accept his this decision.
 
We have another bad news now Rafael Nadal is also having Rib injury and now with this he is going out of tennis for five to six weeks which is surely not good news for tennis community as Djokovic is already out just because of having no vaccination and now Rafael Nadal is also out. https://twitter.com/RafaelNadal/status/1506273644917530629?s=20&t=3mXD0MtPBJEaBtFNpYSe1Q

This is really bad news for Nadal after playing really good since the beggining of the year. Also Djokovic will return i think first at Serbian open then he will play in Monte Carlo and on Rolan garros so finally we can see Djokovic play this year on some of the tournaments

[cryptofrka]

Jeez, I've been sleeping under a rock I guess. I just heard that Barty retired - seems like a weird choice at first glance. She could have cruise controlled to like 30 mil $ extra prize money in the next 5 years or so - but maybe she decided she's got enough money already.

I don't recall anybody leaving so abruptly in their prime - with potentially 10 more years ahead of them. What's the reason?

[Cnut237]

I would be more than happy if I needed to work just half a year,

I know that only the best results count (although I didn't know the exact number - thanks casperBGD). But it's not like they can play say January to June and then have six months off. The big tournaments run throughout the year, and you have to keep yourself in perfect physical condition for the whole year. You can't say have a month off and then turn up at Wimbledon and expect to win it. And playing fewer tournaments is only really an option if you know you're going to score big points in all of them... if we're looking at the tour as a whole, most players will get knocked out early by a seeded player, score hardly any points, and need to play another tournament. I'm not just talking about someone at the top like Barty, but I think it affects the top players too.

[Juggy777]

Just found out meself about Barty, feels pretty rare an event but I haven't followed tennis properly but hey, too short for us, just enough for her, fair game. Reminds us that these are people in the end and with goals and dreams, but damn, she went out on a high, didn't she? Aussies hearts be broken.

P.S. Wouldn't be ruling out a future return, though if she does, hope better than Hingis did on her second, third return? Ultimately incomparable of course.

Also heard the news this morning and didn't saw it coming. I don't think she will come back for a third time, she seems pretty convinced this time that it has been enough and she wants to enjoy life. She earned around 22 million $, so that's also a quite nice amount to do something lol!

It is a big news for tennis fans because no one was expecting this news from Barty at this time she can do something more for many years, but we can't talk about this as she can give better reasons about her this decision most chance she is going to announce on Thursday officially which is really shocking, but sadly we have to accept his this decision.
 
We have another bad news now Rafael Nadal is also having Rib injury and now with this he is going out of tennis for five to six weeks which is surely not good news for tennis community as Djokovic is already out just because of having no vaccination and now Rafael Nadal is also out. https://twitter.com/RafaelNadal/status/1506273644917530629?s=20&t=3mXD0MtPBJEaBtFNpYSe1Q

This is really bad news for Nadal after playing really good since the beggining of the year. Also Djokovic will return i think first at Serbian open then he will play in Monte Carlo and on Rolan garros so finally we can see Djokovic play this year on some of the tournaments

Jeez, I've been sleeping under a rock I guess. I just heard that Barty retired - seems like a weird choice at first glance. She could have cruise controlled to like 30 mil $ extra prize money in the next 5 years or so - but maybe she decided she's got enough money already.

I don't recall anybody leaving so abruptly in their prime - with potentially 10 more years ahead of them. What's the reason?

I feel that’s she’s justified in retiring because if you’ll read her statement then you’ll notice that she said that she had lost her passion for the sport, and the efforts it takes to be on the top were taxing her hence those are reasonable reasons for her retiring quiet early. Furthermore I feel that she will yet be remembered as a legendary player of this sport, and I hope that she find success in her next venture.

[cryptofrka]

I feel that’s she’s justified in retiring because if you’ll read her statement then you’ll notice that she said that she had lost her passion for the sport, and the efforts it takes to be on the top were taxing her hence those are reasonable reasons for her retiring quiet early. Furthermore I feel that she will yet be remembered as a legendary player of this sport, and I hope that she find success in her next venture.

Well, I lost my passion for my job 10 years ago and I still need to work

I think what she did was really brave, it's a shame because she was one of the rare women tennis players I liked to watch. Professional sport is both physically and mentally excruciating and to be where she's at - it took 20 years of playing tennis day after day.

After winning Wimbledon and fulfilling her dreams, she has the rest of her life to enjoy the money she's made. Well done.

[buwaytress]

Jeez, I've been sleeping under a rock I guess. I just heard that Barty retired - seems like a weird choice at first glance. She could have cruise controlled to like 30 mil $ extra prize money in the next 5 years or so - but maybe she decided she's got enough money already.

The article I read mentioned a couple of other names that I didn't recognise, also GS winners. The only one I remember myself was Hingis as I mentioned above, IIRC was No.1 also at the time but Barty's probably the most accomplished being #1 for over 2 years. Apparently, she was damned good at cricket, and has a handicap at golf, which her partner's active in. Some kind of sports prodigy or something!

Her story should give hopes to the likes of Osaka -- also took a long break in her teens and then came back strong.

P.S. Lost your passion for your job? There's such a thing as passion for job? haha

[Yaunfitda]

I feel that’s she’s justified in retiring because if you’ll read her statement then you’ll notice that she said that she had lost her passion for the sport, and the efforts it takes to be on the top were taxing her hence those are reasonable reasons for her retiring quiet early. Furthermore I feel that she will yet be remembered as a legendary player of this sport, and I hope that she find success in her next venture.

Well, I lost my passion for my job 10 years ago and I still need to work

I think what she did was really brave, it's a shame because she was one of the rare women tennis players I liked to watch. Professional sport is both physically and mentally excruciating and to be where she's at - it took 20 years of playing tennis day after day.

After winning Wimbledon and fulfilling her dreams, she has the rest of her life to enjoy the money she's made. Well done.

Lol, everyone needs to work in order to bring food to the table. But maybe she has a lot of money from playing, invested it right and that's why she lost her passion for the sport. But as we have said, she is very young, she can still win GS in the next 2-5 years and compete high level. Maybe she did lost it, but I speculate that there could be more compelling reasons behind. Maybe she doesn't want to damage her body and his mental well being.

[Jackl87]

Just found out meself about Barty, feels pretty rare an event but I haven't followed tennis properly but hey, too short for us, just enough for her, fair game. Reminds us that these are people in the end and with goals and dreams, but damn, she went out on a high, didn't she? Aussies hearts be broken.

P.S. Wouldn't be ruling out a future return, though if she does, hope better than Hingis did on her second, third return? Ultimately incomparable of course.

I usually don't follow tennis that closely if there are no Grand Slams ongoing, so i am not really up to date with the current matches and tournaments and stuff but that news about Ashleigh Barty's retirement were almost impossible to miss as they were even part of the mainstream news on television. I was also extremely surprised that she is retiring with only 25 years of age, i mean she is still so young that you could play for like 10 more years if no major injuries would happen. You also have to admire that she is doing that even though she could earn millions and millions of dollars in the next few years but she does not really care about that apparently which is a great trait for a human.

[Cnut237]

I don't recall anybody leaving so abruptly in their prime - with potentially 10 more years ahead of them.

Justine Henin springs to mind. Serena Williams wouldn't be pushing the grand slams record if Henin had continued playing.

And thinking of Henin reminds me of Clijsters, too. Not sure how much of this is just dealing with injuries, but again, injuries are due in large part to the ridiculous demands of the tour, and a lot of players' bodies can't cope with it. Hingis is another one who quit young and whilst at the very top of the game. It does seem more prevalent on the women's side, I can't think of as many on the men's side, Borg being the only obvious example (although I'm sure I'm missing some).

[aoluain]

Jeez, I've been sleeping under a rock I guess. I just heard that Barty retired - seems like a weird choice at first glance. She could have cruise controlled to like 30 mil $ extra prize money in the next 5 years or so - but maybe she decided she's got enough money already.

The article I read mentioned a couple of other names that I didn't recognise, also GS winners. The only one I remember myself was Hingis as I mentioned above, IIRC was No.1 also at the time but Barty's probably the most accomplished being #1 for over 2 years. Apparently, she was damned good at cricket, and has a handicap at golf, which her partner's active in. Some kind of sports prodigy or something!

Her story should give hopes to the likes of Osaka -- also took a long break in her teens and then came back strong.

P.S. Lost your passion for your job? There's such a thing as passion for job? haha

I wonder if the likes of Osaka and the top 10 on the womens side will be
more driven now that Barty is out of the picture.....hmm it probably doesnt matter really.

Osaka is playing Kerber next, Rollbit have Osaka as favoirite @ 1.37 which is probably
right and they are giving Kerber +7.5 handicap @ 1.13, I've taken both. This might be a nice
double bet on one match.