Zivilev's injury
The first round of the 20 18 Australian Open ended on Tuesday night. It is worth noting that in the men's and women's singles *** 128, only one player retired due to injury. This tied the lowest record of four tennis grand slam retirements in the first round in the past decade, while in the previous 40 grand slams, only three retired in the first round. In the past 40 Grand Slams, every men's singles event has a first-round retirement of 3. 1.03, and women's singles has a first-round retirement of 1.05.
Although acute injuries have decreased, many people in the industry have emphasized the important role played by the new rules of grand slam. Under the new regulations, injured players can choose to retire before going to the stadium and keep half of the first round bonus. Players who replace retired players, the so-called "lucky losers" who lost the qualifying round, will receive the remaining half of the first round prize money. At the Australian Open, this bonus, together with the "lucky losers" who entered the final round of qualifying, has reached 60,000 Australian dollars, equivalent to 47,730 US dollars.
Misha Zverev retired in the second set of the first round against Hyeon Chung on Tuesday night. Before that, the stimulating effect brought by the new rules was obvious: four players gave up their positions and took half of the first round prize money.
Craig Tilly, director of the Australian Open, said: "The first round of the Australian Open shows that the new rules have worked." . "Tennis fans are the biggest beneficiaries of the new regulations. They can see high-quality and competitive games. I think players will also accept the positive effects brought by the new regulations. "
Eric Butorac was the chairman of the ATP Players' Council for two years before he announced his retirement at the end of the 20 16 season. He called rule reform a "long-term problem". However, in recent years, the income of grand slam events has increased significantly, and Butorac is optimistic about the new rules that will be applied to grand slam.
ATP Tour introduced similar new regulations in 20 17, which proved to be very popular.
The regulations on retirement and bonuses became the focus of Wimbledon last year. In the first round, seven players retired, including two back-to-back games at the center court: Novak Djokovic and Federer's opponents both withdrew due to injuries. The audience was disappointed, and the broadcaster lost several hours of prime time.
Retirement and bonus reform have also been included in a series of experimental new regulations issued by the Grand Slam last June165438+1October. Babcock, chairman of the Grand Slam Organizing Committee, stressed that the new rules are still in the experimental stage, and the organizing committee will integrate the annual data and evaluate the new rules after the US Open.
According to the new regulations, any player who chooses to retire in the first round of competition or acts "below professional standards" may be fined. This policy is intended to curb the frequent ebb of injuries, and large-scale retirement often makes those healthy and effective players who stop at qualifying feel very depressed.
Lucas Laco is currently ranked 86th in the men's singles world, and he has hardly entered the Grand Slam for most of his career. Laker said that after a whole year's struggle, the players all thought they were qualified for the first round of grand slam bonuses.
"You have worked hard for a whole season, and every little makes a mickle, so you can rank among the top 100 in the world," said Laco. "Getting a grand slam bonus is a reward you deserve, and the bonus amount of the four grand slams is also considerable. You have made countless efforts to get to the top. If you are unfortunately injured suddenly in the game and can't continue, then of course you can get a reward. But if you don't play this game, you won't get any money. This is a big difference. "
Tim Smyczek, a 30-year-old American men's singles player, is currently ranked 13 1 in the world. He still remembers that one year at Wimbledon, as a "lucky loser", he was ready to take over the position where he might retire. As a result, only a few players retired in the game, and their injuries did not seem sudden, but existed for a long time.
"In fact, we can't blame these players who hurt the game and won the bonus. After all, they won the seats by their own efforts, "Szmicsek said. "But I hope that the new regulations will encourage everyone to deal with injuries correctly in the future."
On Thursday afternoon, before the first round of voting, two men and two women-Filip Krajinovic, Lu Yanxun, Margarita Gasparian and Anna Koonjuk-announced their retirement. According to the regulations, the competition doctor examined four athletes and showed that they were unfit for the competition.
Four "lucky losers" filled their vacancies, and American teenager Bernarda Pera went on to win his first Grand Slam, winning at least the second prize (90,000 Australian dollars, about 765,438+0,652 US dollars).
Peter Polansky, another "lucky loser", said that if there were no new regulations, he might not have a chance to take part in the competition.
"If the rules haven't changed, I'm sure those players will take part in the competition as usual and then finish the competition before one set." Polanski said. In the first round on Tuesday, he lost to Russian Karen Khachanov and missed the next round.
Although the new rules mean that his bonus will be reduced, Polanski said that even if the retired players get the full share of the first round bonus from themselves (this is the bonus policy of ATP championships), he doesn't mind.
"For me, those who quit can even get a full first round bonus, just giving the' lucky loser' a chance to play, just like on the tour." Polanski said, "I have no problem with the new regulations. Although I don't think half of the bonus is actually enough, it is still good for Krajinovic and Lu Yanxun, because not many players will give up their positions. Even if my arm is in plaster, I will still go to the stadium and try my best to play. "
It's a good start that the number of people who dropped out of the first round of the Australian Open dropped sharply, but not everyone attributed it to the effect of the new regulations. Robin Robin Haase, a former member of the ATP Players' Council, thinks that the new rules may only change a little, because those players who are eager to get the full bonus will reject the proposal of * * * to enjoy the first round bonus.
"I think it's just a coincidence that no one quit halfway," Hasse said. "Those players who still choose to step on the field in the face of injuries will eventually announce their retirement for an extra half of the bonus. In my opinion, you either have everything or nothing. "