41. FINAL INSULT

Why is it that doubles in tennis continues to be treated like a bad relation; something that isn’t valued or credible; yet it requires just as much skill, technique and tactical awareness as singles – some might argue more as there are four players on the court and each pair has to work as a team to outwit the opposition?

What particularly ‘got my goat’ this week was the fact that, having made it to the doubles final of the W25 in Bath, UK, (which was scheduled for Saturday); and knowing that, as a result, it was going to be very difficult to get to Altenkirchen in Germany and ready to play in the Qualifying Draw on Sunday morning, my player asked if it was possible to be ‘released’ from her singles obligation in Germany so that she could travel with less stress and for a significantly reduced financial cost, on Sunday or Monday, and just take part in the Doubles Draw. After all she had made it to the Final of the tournament in the UK, so surely the organisers of the next tournament would be sympathetic to her situation, and the travel difficulties she was facing, and allow her to withdraw from the qualifying competition without penalty?

But no, this is not permitted for doubles players. It would have been permitted however, if she had been in the Singles Final! So she either had to somehow get to the German tournament in time for her match on Sunday (at a high cost and with little sleep) or be fined $150 for not turning up on time – more than she would actually earn playing the match itself.

The situation wasn’t helped by the fact that the Qualifying Draw of the ITF tournaments can start on either a Sunday or a Monday (with the sign in being 6pm the night before), but tournaments in the previous week typically end on a Saturday (doubles) and Sunday (singles), making it pretty difficult to get to the next tournament in time if the player has managed to do well and make a final during the preceding week. I guess the ITF is assuming that if a player is in a qualifying tournament then she is unlikely to reach the final of the tournament played the week before. But this does happen – Raducanu winning the US Open from the first round of qualifying is a case in point, and on a lesser scale, my player winning the W25 in Loughborough last November, having started the week in the qualifying draw. Surely there is a case to suggest that all tournaments, regardless of the host country, should start and end on the same day – so allowing the players sufficient time to get from event one to the next (without penalty)?

The issue of prize money for doubles players warrants a blog of its own so I won’t dwell on it here, apart from to say that this is another HUGE example of how doubles players are very much treated as the poor relation. The difference in prize money for singles and doubles is massive and little consideration is given to the fact that the prize money for a doubles match has to be shared between the two players on the team, so not only is the prize money for a doubles player much lower than that of singles to start with, it is then further reduced by 50% after the money has been split between the two players. This latter point is understandable but there is a good case to say that the prize money for doubles teams as a whole needs to be increased – more on this in an upcoming blog.

Other examples of this second class citizen status is shown by the fact that more often than not representation from the governing bodies of tennis show up to watch the singles matches, but disappear without trace as soon as the double players take to court. How often is it however, that a Fed Cup (now Billy Jean King Cup) or a Davis Cup match hinges on the success or otherwise of the doubles players? Surely it is just as important to focus some attention on the doubles. Doubles players are often left to work out how to play their discipline by themselves but doubles specific coaching is essential as the whole mindset for doubles is different from singles. There is a lot more to it than people realise.

It’s time to give credit where credit is due. Doubles has a definite place on the Tour and should be acknowledged as such. Not every singles player chooses to play doubles. Some players are simply better suited to the singles game and vice versa. Others choose not to play both disciplines so as to reduce the physical toll on the body. But whatever choice is made I just wish the governing bodies of tennis would acknowledge that doubles is a sport in itself – it is not just an activity for players who can’t or don’t want to play singles. Players should not be penalised for their choice of discipline – what goes for singles should also go for doubles and the tournaments should be organised in such a way as to accommodate both activities, with sufficient time allocated for players to play both and no penalties for players who reach a final in doubles and as such, might find it difficult to get to the next qualifying singles tournament on time.

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