22 Nov 2010

Off season lenghtened for top tennis players

10:40 am on 22 November 2010

Top tennis stars like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will be able to enjoy a seven-week break between seasons from 2012 after the ATP finally agreed to ease the work-load on their players.

For several years the likes of Federer and Nadal have been keen to increase the down-time from the ATP World Tour Finals, the last event of the season which conclude in London this week, and the beginning of the pre-Australian Open tournaments in January.

Federer, Nadal and their fellow pros have argued that the current calender, which only allows for four weeks rest, places too much strain on their bodies and runs the risk of exposing them to injuries.

But Adam Helfant, president and executive chairman of the ATP, says the governing body have decided to make a change to take account of those views.

Helfant hopes the changes will appease the players, even though there could be complaints about the lack of preparation time between the end of the Paris Masters and the start of the ATP Finals as a result of the switches in the schedule.