“Unfortunately, the Asian Swing is the hardest part because you feel like the season is going to finish soon, but you still need to push,” Iga Swiatek said just a week ago, and the words cut deep. The truth is undeniable: the tennis season stretches endlessly, demanding too much from bodies and minds. With both ATP and WTA tours running nearly 11 months, players face relentless heat, suffocating travel, and mandatory events that leave little space to breathe. Now calls for reform only grow louder as chaos unfolds in China, where Holger Rune, Bianca Andreescu, and others visibly struggled just to finish their matches.
Breaking news from the Shanghai Masters paints a grim picture as Holger Rune, battling Ugo Humbert, suddenly called for a medical timeout while leading 4-3 in the first set. Feeling unwell, Rune had to pause before serving, a stark reminder of just how much strain players are under in this unforgiving stretch of the season.
Meanwhile, the Wuhan Open delivered its own wave of medical chaos. Bianca Andreescu required a timeout before serving at 5-6 against Anastasia Zakharova, who herself had already needed treatment earlier. In another match, Katerina Siniakova halted play at 0-3 down in the second set against Yafan Wang. These aren’t isolated incidents; they form a troubling pattern. The suffocating heat, endless travel, and relentless scheduling are leaving players gasping, forced to fight not just opponents but their own breaking bodies. Tennis is showing its cruelest edge when survival seems as important as victory.
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