Have pity on the shuttlers

KUALA LUMPUR: The All England and other Super 1000 tournaments should be extended to 10 days from the present six to give players sufficient rest, said Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen.

This hectic and punishing schedule has resulted in shuttlers suffering injuries and withdrawing from tournaments.

Axelsen, himself, has suffered as a result. The frenetic scheduling of the current World Tour also makes it difficult for top players to maintain their performance.

The Dane was forced to withdraw from the World Tour Finals in Hangzhou in December. He also skipped the Indonesia Masters last week after winning the India Open a fortnight ago.

Axelsen pointed out that tennis Grand Slam events, except for Wimbledon, have lengthened their duration to 14 or 15 days.

His suggestion came after the announcement that the US Open will have a 15-day duration from Aug 24-Sept 7.

"All England and other Super 1000's could be 10-day plus events," posted Axelsen on his X account recently.

"Give the players 1-2 more rest days, more time to hype up the matches and for the media and fans cummunicate with the players.

"If not for 10 days, at least a duration between seven and nine days. It can be tried out with at least one event."

A longer duration will definitely be a much needed relief to those who are forced to play two or three consecutive BWF tournanaments every month.

The stress is even more in Super 500 events where lower-ranked players also need to survive a maximum two matches before the main draw.

Going all the way to the final from the qualifying rounds means a player may have to play seven matches in six days in the current Super 500 events.