ATP & WTA Pros Forced to Play Twice in One Day After Cincinnati Open’s Scheduling Blunder

While top-ranked tennis players are voicing their frustrations at the hectic tennis schedule, the scheduling situation at the ongoing Cincinnati Masters will do little to solve the problem. With rain interrupting a large portion of the qualifying rounds on Tuesday (August 11), the organizers have taken a unique measure to complete the matches.

In what could be a controversial move, the event has double-booked players on Wednesday (August 12), forcing some to play twice.

The event’s decision to finish the qualifying on time is understandable as it does not want to mix it with the main-draw action that is slated to begin on Thursday (August 13).

The event’s initiative to get the matches done is understandable, but it puts the players at risk as playing two matches on the same day increases the chances of injury. The roster for the day features former Grand Slam Champion Bianca Andreescu getting the tougher end of the scheduling situation.

Tournament scheduling chaos just forced tennis pros into a grueling double header. Stay updated on how the ATP and WTA navigate this logistical nightmare.

She is slated to play Wang Xinyu in her first qualifying round at 10:00 am, and should she win, she will be in action again at 4:00 pm on the same day for her final qualifying round.

This is not the first time that rain has played spoilsport. The men’s event in Montreal has faced such crunch scheduling due to rain interruptions, with the likes of Ben Shelton playing on consecutive days, and Daniil Medvedev experiencing a delay.

Earlier during the grass-court season, Emma Raducanu had to be on double duty during her campaign at Queens. The Brit had to play her quarterfinal and semifinal on the same day, leaving her running on fumes in her final against Donna Vekic.

However, for the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Open, the new 12-day format has often led to the two events overlapping, leaving players with less recovery time.

The decision to extend the Masters 1000 events in Canada and Cincinnati might be commercially profitable, but it has reduced recovery time for the players. The two events overlap this year, with the first-round action in Cincinnati beginning on August 13, the same day the finals are being played in Toronto and Montreal.

While seeded players have the protection of a first-round bye in Cincinnati, an unseeded player has little to no time to recover if he or she makes a deep run in Canada.

That said, even for the top-ranked players, it will be a difficult ask to accommodate their recovery time in the middle of travel, going to a different country, playing on a different surface, and keeping up production at a high level.

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