Wimbledon is "considering implementing a new rule to deter injured players from stepping on to court to guarantee prize money" of roughly US$45,000 only to then "quit during the match after a frustrating series of retirements yesterday," according to Stuart Fraser of the LONDON TIMES. Spectators at Centre Court were left "deeply disappointed after two matches in a row ended in retirements." Alexandr Dolgopolov and Martin Klizan -- the opponents of Roger Federer and Nojak Djokovic, respectively -- "each called an end to proceedings after less than 45 minutes of action." In total, there have been eight retirements with "seven of them in the first round of the men’s singles, compared with none last year." Djokovic and Federer "urged the four grand-slam tournaments to follow the lead of the ATP Tour, which is trialing a new rule to help combat such occurrences." A source said that the trial was "being monitored" by the All England Lawn Tennis Club and that it "may lobby for its inclusion in the grand-slam rulebook." The ATP's rule "allows for a player, up to twice a year, to withdraw before a first-round match and still collect his full prize money." A "lucky loser, who is on standby after being beaten in the final round of qualifying, will then take his place and would earn further prize money only if he wins the match" (LONDON TIMES, 7/5). In London, Jack Pitt-Brooke writes retirements have been the "story of the first round." This "spate of pull-outs raised the questions about whether players are showing up unfit, just to receive" their first round prize money (London INDEPENDENT, 7/5). Federer said, "If you walk out on Centre Court, there is a responsibility. ... A player should not go on court if he knows he could not finish" (USA TODAY, 7/5).
TAKE THE MONEY & RUN? TENNIS.com's Steve Tignor noted the guaranteed prize money is "far more than smaller tournaments can offer." It is "easy to see the temptation for an injured pro to show up, start a first-round match, qualify for the money and call it a day." If a player "doesn't earn prize money, he doesn't get paid at all." There are withdrawals "at every tournament," and by the time Wimbledon is over, fans "may hardly even remember having talked about this issue." The players' defense has "always been that anyone who has a ranking high enough to get direct entry into a Slam has earned that prize money over the course of the year, and that's fair." But it is "also fair for a spectator who has paid god-knows-how-much for Centre Court seats to expect to see a completed men's match (or event two) for his or her ticket" (TENNIS.com, 7/4). ESPN's Pam Shriver noted this is a "men's problem," as there was "only one woman retirement in the first round." Shriver: "The men's matches are so much longer. ... They're grueling. If you're going to come back and you've got a nagging injury, you're much more (likely) going to let it go." She added, "Who's going to walk away from $45,000 before the match? You're going to take it as an independent contractor. But at three out of five sets and the huge prize money, something's got to give." She predicted the rules will change in the future "because of who it affected, Federer and Djokovic, and because of what they said in the press conferences afterwards." Shriver: "It will put a tremendous amount of pressure even on the lofty grand slams.” ESPN's Brad Gilbert suggested if a player pulls out in the first round, he cannot play the following week. He said, "If I'm going out there, I'm going to play. If I pull a rip cord, you're out next week. Maybe if you tweak the rules, guys will start thinking about it a lot more.” He added, “All of the people from the U.S. Open are here. Something can get done. This doesn't take a lot" ("Wimbledon," ESPN, 7/5).
