Tennis Mailbag: Why Playing Injured Is Rarely Talked About

Submissions have been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.

Hey everyone …

• Here’s this week’s Served podcast, including Craig Tiley’s first interview as CEO of the USTA:

• In non-tennis news: Why can’t the U.S. build a high-speed rail?

• Respect to Román Andrés Burruchaga, and respect to tennis’s thin margins. Burruchaga failed to qualify for Indian Wells and Miami, but reached the Houston final (and held match points against Tommy Paul when he got there), beating Learner Tien in the process. Tien beat Daniil Medvedev earlier this year, and Medvedev beat Carlos Alcaraz earlier this year. Different players. Different matches. As any junior player knows, “indirect wins” are tantalizing but silly. Still, it’s an indication of how little separates the top from the tippy-top.

• Speaking of, meet Yulia Starodubtseva, who was recently teaching at a New York country club and is on the cusp of the top 50.

Jessica Pegula said it on the court after her win, if you don't know the story of Yuliia Starodubtseva, look it up.

Her post-match press conference. Incredibly impressive. First and foremost, a proud Ukranian. Says her heart is there.

But this is someone who started a… pic.twitter.com/RkWfRsxAUo
— Scott Eisberg (@SEisbergWCIV) April 5, 2026

Onward …

So frustrating to see good players returning from time away and unable to regain anywhere near their former form: Berrettini, Andreescu, Osaka (and who can forget Thiem?).

Is this a case of lingering injury or a complete lack of confidence (or depression stemming from realizing they may never get back to where they were?) while others like Fils, have come back gangbusters? So sad to see these former champs losing early week after week. It’s expected early on, but when dismal results drag out months (or even years), what must that do to the psyche?

James Pham
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

• Great question. Apart from sharing the empathy you express so nicely, there are no real answers here. A few talking points that sprang to mind as I read your question:

1) It’s an easy binary shortcut to talk about mental vs. physical health, but there’s so much entanglement. Each of the players you mention has talked about this. (Add Paula Badosa, Juan Martín del Potro, Nick Kyrgios, etc. to the list.) It’s a vicious cycle. You lose matches because you’re not 100% physically, and these defeats extract a mental price. (Is the rest of the field catching up? Am I ever going to get back to where I was? If I play, I risk exacerbating the injury and further defeat. If I don’t play, I lose points and fall further.) Players are suddenly forced to manage their physical injury and their psychic fissures.

2) I suppose it’s rooted in honor. But the tennis code—“If you play, you’re fit; if you’re fit, you play”—doesn’t always serve the player. Or the fans. The code basically says: If you take the court, you forfeit the right to complain or blame defeat on your body. Players generally comply. Seldom does a player give an honest appraisal. Then later—sometimes years later—out come the stories. I couldn’t push off. I shouldn’t have played. My coach told me I was crazy to go out there. I believe I told the story on the podcast last month about Tommy Paul playing Roland Garros last year and getting scans on off days to confirm he was not exacerbating an existing injury. How often do we—and I include myself—see a losing result and don’t fully account for a player’s health?

3) I was recently writing about a football player who was injured. It was frustrating, but he was paid for his contract. When it lapsed, he was given a “split” contract, basically a deal to prove himself (half the money guaranteed; half if he completed the season without an injury). Not ideal, but at least he got something. In tennis, players earn prize money. Eat what you kill. When you’re injured, you’re not getting shifts and not getting paid. And, increasingly, endorsement deals come loaded with performance-based incentives. Those don’t kick in if you’re not playing.

Jon, I just attended Indian Wells and while I had a good time overall, it’s clear they need to do something about making the big stadium more affordable (which will all make the grounds less packed). But I have a different question: I would love to buy a T-shirt with a player’s name on it. I can do this at a Lakers game or a Dodgers game. At tennis, all they sell is expensive dresses that I might wear to play tennis (if I played more) but would never wear otherwise. Isn’t tennis missing an opportunity here?

Jill, LA

• The short answer is yes. This is a big miss for tennis and has been for years. Who among us would not want to buy a T-shirt with “Moutet” or “Starodubtseva” on the back, like a cool concert T-shirt from an underground band? Most people won’t get it, but those who do will wink and smile. But if you’re, say, Nike cutting a fat check to Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz (or have a lesser-known player on a more modest deal), you want fans buying your branded apparel, not random $30 T-shirts. The tours are limited here, too. Unless there is a group licensing fee, or if the players are compensated—and not in violation of an existing apparel deal—the governing bodies can’t produce this product either.

Meanwhile, this might be the coolest branded signature tennis apparel I’ve seen available for purchase.

An adjacent question I’ve always had: Do the tours have no say in the nature of the sponsor? Is, for instance, Gazprom—the state-owned Russian energy company—really an appropriate patch for players to wear? (Tennis bans Russian flags over objections to the Ukraine invasion, but direct financial support from the war machine is okay?) More frivolously, about 15 years ago, UFC fighters were sponsored by something called “Condom Depot.” The UFC banned this, essentially telling fighters, We’re trying to do a network television deal here. We can’t have you coming out to fight wearing gear sponsored by this down-market, lurid product. It makes us look crude and indecorous.

The fighters essentially responded, Wait, you’re worried about condoms and appearances of gaucherie, but somehow beating the stuffing out of each other until we soak the mat in blood is okay?

No, I’m kidding.

They really said something like, Wait, we’re independent contractors. And unless the UFC is going to make us whole, we should be able to cut whatever deals we like.

Because there is no fighters’ union, guess who prevailed?

Venus Williams fell to Francesca Jones in the opening round at the Miami Open. | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Hi Jon,

To push back on your “Venus gets some slack” wild card take, I think it’s actually on Venus to stop asking for these freebies. If Venus Williams asks for a wild card, she is going to get one from any tournament who wants that buzz and gate. She knows this. But that doesn’t mean she should play on her (long ago) legendary status and deny a young up-and-comer her opportunity to enter the main draw with a wildcard. Call it the “Biden problem.” You want the elder statesman to know when to step aside gracefully, rather than be pushed out. Venus should get this and stop asking for special wild card favors.

Thank you.
Dominic Ciafardini, Westchester, NY

• I heard from friends, former players and more than a few readers who disagree with me on this one.

I still say that IMG uses wild cards as inducements to sign and reward players. Federations use them in lieu of proper player funding. The majors swap reciprocal wild cards. As long as wild cards have been turned into a commodity, Venus Williams can—and should—take as many as she wants.

Far more interesting: She won’t really go here, nor, of course, is she obligated to. But wouldn’t you love to know what is really driving her to continue playing? To be clear: This is not in any way a plea to retire. I go totally libertarian here. Play till you’re 75 if you want, and you derive pleasure. You do you.

But can we agree that this is highly unusual? Here is a player whose own father encouraged her to retire in 2002. She has other interests and options and is nearly two decades removed from her last major title. She is losing to players (no shade) of a caliber she would have beaten 6–2, 6–2 in her prime.

Again, good for her. I have no judgments, but it’s such an unusual career move. I (and I suspect I’m not alone) would be curious to hear more about her motivations and specific sources of fulfillment.

Madrid, Rome, Barcelona, Monte Carlo. If you had to pick one event this spring, what would it be?

G.R., New York

• It depends on what you are looking for. Tennis only? Or tennis as part of a vacation? Monte Carlo is a stunning tournament venue with a stunning view. But —insert Somerset Maugham line here—maybe not as many museums, quirky, inexpensive food joints or street culture as you’d want. (Unless you want to venture to Nice.) Barcelona is one of the great cities of the world. But it’s not a Masters 1000 event. You can’t go wrong in Madrid, but the venue is a bit of a schlep from downtown. So, Rome it is. Venue? Check. Quality of the field? Check. Proximity to the city? Check. Rome? Check.

I propose no flag at all. Players don’t play for their country on the ATP/WTA tour and many of them don’t even live in their country. We can simply put the two or three letters identifying countries IF really needed. I do get in sports it’s a thing but maybe it’s time to change

@xxytine2

• I would encourage fans to root for players, not countries. (Only the Swiss are supposed to back Roger Federer? Is French-speaking, Monaco-dwelling Daniil Medvedev a villain because he was born in Russia? No.) But I quite like flags. They literally add color to the canvas. They underscore tennis’s wide-ranging global appeal.

Also, for players from smaller countries or countries without much tennis history (Alex Eala from the Philippines; the Tunisians who followed Ons Jabeur), the (again, literal) flag-waving was a real source of pride. Just last weekend, Yulia Starodubtseva spoke movingly about seeing so many Ukrainian flags during her run to the Charleston final. I say keep flags in all forms.

Take us out, Chad L. of Arkansas:

When a few athletes dominate the field in a sport like tennis, it makes the rest of the field look weaker because they aren’t winning majors. We’ve been seeing this now for 22 years(!). Has the field really been that weak the whole time, even as tennis becomes more global and more profitable (which encourages more people to pursue it as a career)? I believe we are seeing generational talents with Federer, [Rafael] Nadal, [Novak] Djokovic, Alcaraz and Sinner. However, one thing I don’t hear discussed much is their extreme dedication put into training and self-sacrifice and eating properly. It is a huge sacrifice to be at that top level. A story by Djokovic comes to mind:

“How much discipline? In January 2012, I beat Nadal in the finals of the Australian Open. The match lasted five hours and fifty-three minutes—the longest match in Australian Open history, and the longest Grand Slam singles final in the Open Era. Many commentators have called that match the single greatest tennis match of all time. After I won, I sat in the locker room in Melbourne. I wanted one thing: to taste chocolate. I hadn’t tasted it since the summer of 2010. Miljan brought me a candy bar. I broke off one square—one tiny square—and popped it into my mouth, let it melt on my tongue. That was all I would allow myself. That is what it has taken to get to number one.”

Also, in his book, he said he has “a very simple diet: vegetables, beans, white meat, fish, and fruit.” I remember Andy Roddick also talking about sacrifices when he was struggling:

“It comes from playing like [crap]. Why would I feel confident right now? If that was the case, I don’t think we’d be sitting here having this funeral-like press conference. It’s just weird because I used to hit for a half-hour and then go eat Cheetos the rest of the day, come out and drill forehands. Now I’m really trying to make it happen, being professional, really going for it—and I miss my Cheetos.”—Andy Roddick, 3/16/2006

It’s easy for someone to say they’d make the sacrifices given the chance, but how hard is it to be consistently that disciplined with our time and eating and exercise? I’d imagine it gets even harder for the top players when they make big money and can afford a life of luxury, to eat anything they want from around the world. Yet to keep pushing with that extreme amount of dedication is rare.

I remember one time I was entered to play a tournament with the top players in the state, and then my daughter’s birthday party got scheduled for the morning of the tournament. My first match was in the afternoon, so I could go to both (and I wasn’t going to miss her birthday party). But it was at a pizza buffet, and there was birthday cake. It was tough ... I tried to eat responsibly, but my performance in the tournament didn’t go well. I don’t regret it, though. Also, there were not thousands of dollars on the line, so it was just a loss, not a cut in pay.

Do you know of any documentaries that focus on how extreme the training and lifestyle is for the top players? Or maybe you and Roddick could discuss it on a podcast sometime.

Chad L., AR

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