Players Wonder If Fed Cup Travel Causes Injuries

Written by: Staff on 23rd February 2012

Players Wonder If Fed Cup Travel Causes Injuries |

Tennis knowledgeables such as Butch Buchholz and Cliff Drysdale are long time advocates of Davis Cup (or the World Group at least) being truncated into an exclusive two-week window with all matches played at the same venue. Now Jelena Jankovic believes the same concept would work for the Fed Cup.

Jankovic recently had to fly from the warmth of Melbourne and the Australian Open to represent Serbia in the winter chill of Charleroi in Belgium. Then after the spring American double in Indian Wells and Miami, she will head to Moscow for the quarter-finals against Russia.

“Maybe they could find a period for Fed Cup during the year which is convenient for all of us and maybe squeeze it,” said Jankovic who is insistent representing Serbia is as important to her as contesting Grand Slam events. “If they could find a two?week period during the year which is convenient for all the players, it would be great.

“I’m very patriotic and love playing for my country. You don’t play for ranking points; you don’t play really for money. It’s a team spirit and I’m there with my colleagues from Serbia. Something needs to be done but the Fed Cup is an International Tennis Federation event. The ITF has to make those changes. I don’t think it has anything to do with the WTA.”

All the traveling, not just between different time zones but different seasons and vast differences in temperatures, takes it’s toll on the female body and Jankovic believes it is no coincidence that Victoria Azarenka, Petra Kvitova, Li Na and Vera Zvonareva all forced to pull out of this week’s Dubai Duty Free Championships.

Jankovic, who pulled a leg muscle playing against the Belgians, continued: “Some of us had to fly from warm Melbourne, which is 30 degrees, and go to somewhere in Europe that was minus 20. Then you back to another warm place, like here in Dubai. Indoor, outdoor; you know it’s not really easy to do and it’s tough on our bodies. Obviously we been doing this for years and we try our best to stay in shape, staying injury?free but it’s not easy.

“Sometimes we wish we didn’t have to fly from one part of the world to another, going from hot to cold. It’s not easy and you are at risk to get injured.”

Topics: Fed Cup, Jelena Jankovic