WTA vows to cut season

The WTA Tour has promised bold reforms including a shorter season after discovering that a record number of top players pulled out of the most important women's events this year due to injury or fatigue.

New data released on Friday showed that withdrawals from Tier 1 tournaments by players ranked in the world's top 10 more than doubled this season from 13 to 31.

Top-10 withdrawals from the leading events has also jumped by 72 percent over the past five years.

"Fans and tournaments deserve to see the top players and to be able to count on them to show up but injuries and withdrawals from a season that overtaxes our players is hurting the fan experience," chief executive Larry Scott said in a statement.

"Women's tennis needs to enact bold reforms in the name of player health and the continued global growth of the game. This latest data is a clear signal our season is simply too long and gruelling for even the finest women athletes in the world."

Scott said he had directed a special committee to develop rule changes for 2007 and 2008 that would provide short-term improvement to the withdrawal issue.

The changes will be finalised by the end-of-year board meeting at the Tour Championship in Madrid in early November.

Scott said Roadmap 2010, the tour's reform plan to ensure more leading players attend the most important tournaments through a healthier schedule, would be accelerated one year to 2009.

"These initiatives will ensure that not only will our athletes remain the most recognisable and popular female athletes on the planet but that we are able to sustain the incredible growth the sport has witnessed," he said.

U.S. Open champion and world number three Maria Sharapova [Images] agreed the season was too long.

"I feel strongly the season needs to be made much shorter, with more breaks for players to rest in order to be in peak condition when we do play," said the Russian.

"I know the tour is taking this issue seriously and I am looking forward to the changes that will lead to a healthier schedule for players."

Among the elements of Roadmap 2010 are a shortened season ending in October, more breaks after grand slams, a reduction in the number of tour tournaments top players must play from 13 to 11 and a streamlining of events with leading players competing against each other more often.

© Copyright 2008 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.