Shutting Down Early

Opinion

Shutting Down Early

After having health issues in China, Emma Raducanu announced she’s shutting it down for the rest of the year. She’s not alone. Elena Svitolina, Jack Draper, and Daria Kasatkina have also called it early.

The standard take is that the season is too long — players are exhausted, schedules are brutal, and the ATP/WTA calendars need a rethink. And sure, that’s all true. But I think there’s another story hiding underneath all the burnout talk.

It’s this: a player’s career can now be much longer than it used to be.

Federer, Nadal, Serena, and Djokovic completely rewrote what a tennis lifespan can look like. For some perspective:

• John McEnroe played 14 years on tour

• Steffi Graf: 17

• Björn Borg: 10-ish (and he retired at 26).

• Pete Sampras: 15

• Chris Evert: 17

All long careers by normal sports standards.

But Federer played 24 seasons. Serena 25. Nadal 23. Novak? 2026 will be his 23rd season. He turns 39 this May. And he’s still ranked Top 5 in the world. If he’s still playing at 45, I’ll go gluten free too.

It’s easy to write those four off as anomalies — maybe they’re just built different. But I think their longevity is also the product of better everything: nutrition, recovery, sleep science, tennis memes, and smarter scheduling. Imagine how many more slams Steffi would’ve won if she had a Whoop and Athletic Greens.

So maybe the goal for today’s generation isn’t to grind through a 50 week season. Maybe it’s to build a career that lasts 20 years.

Think about it — if you’re Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner and you want any shot at touching Djokovic’s records, you need to stay elite for at least 15 years. That’s insanely hard. And you definitely don’t do that by playing 18 tournaments a season, limping through November, and then having half a margarita in your two-week off-season. You do that by pacing yourself.

That’s why early shutdowns might actually be a smart long-term play. Not a sign of physical or mental weakness — but of planning. Rest now, play longer later.

We’ve seen this model work outside tennis too. LeBron James and Tom Brady both extended their careers into their 40s by obsessing over recovery. LeBron reportedly spends over a million dollars a year on his body — cryotherapy, massage, nutrition, sleep tracking, the whole deal. And both will tell you that rest is part of the work.

Tennis players are finally catching up to that mindset.

Of course, there’s a downside. The late-season Asian and European indoor swings — once packed with top names — are starting to feel thinner. Fans in Beijing, Tokyo, and Vienna might not get to see their favorite stars. And tournament organizers are understandably frustrated.

But if the tradeoff is having Sinner & Alcaraz still competing (and healthy) at 35 instead of fading at 29, I’ll take that deal every time.

Trivia

Until the late 1960s, tennis rackets were made out of wood. Who was the first person to win a Grand Slam with a steel racket?

A. Jimmy Connors

B. Billie Jean King

C. Arthur Ashe

D. Chris Evert

Find out at the bottom!

Memes

Meet the Player

Anna Kalinskaya

From: Moscow, Russia

Best Slam Result: QF (Australian Open)

Career High Ranking: 14 (Sept 2024)

Fun Fact: Both parents were professional Badminton players, so racket sports run through her veins.

Game Analysis: Kalinskaya’s game is as clean as they come. The Russian likes to bully opponents by standing close to the baseline and bludgeoning groundstrokes. She favors her backhand, and often takes it down the line early in points to set up an easy next shot.

Career Prediction: At just 26 years young, Kalinskaya is a solid Top 50 player. She’s climbed to a career high of No. 14 in the world, and has wins over Gauff, Swiatek, Ostapenko, and Paolini. If she can improve her movement & defensive skills, she could become a household name in the top 10, and even snag a slam on hard court.

Around the Net

Some of the best tennis content I found on the internet this week…

🫨 Serena on the time she psyched out Martina Hingis during the coin toss of the 1999 US Open final.

👤 Can you name the four players that Djokovic was doing impressions of in this video?

🍒 The cherry on top of Valentin Vacherot’s miraculous run in Shanghai? Meeting Roger Federer for the first time.

Answer

B. Billie Jean King

14 year olds today playing with the a 100 square inch thicc boy will say this photo is fake. But it’s true — Billie Jean was the first, winning the 1967 Wimbledon with the Wilson T2000.