Speaking at an environmental panel event at Wimbledon, recently-retired Laura Robson noted that the tennis season is too packed, which negatively affects the longevity of players’ careers, as well as the environment.
The 28-year-old Robson, who officially retired from tennis last month as her body couldn’t handle the pressures of the sport, explains that players are spread too thin trying to keep up with the busy calendar:
You have top players who can’t play week in, week out, because they win one tournament and the next day they’re expected to turn around and play in an event that’s just as big and important.
From an injury standpoint, it makes so much sense to spread out the calendar more, and have more of an off-season in the middle of the year as well as the end of the year. That would also help with sustainability because you wouldn’t travel as much.
I feel there’s a bigger conversation to be had, not only with injuries and longevity in the sport but also sustainability, and hopefully we can connect all those things.
The former British No.1 Robson labels tennis as non-eco-friendly, something she explains she’s realized only now that she’s out of the bubble, that she’s not playing any more. Excessive traveling, both around the globe and during tournaments, as well as single-use plastic water bottles are just the most obvious negative impacts on the environment that Robson feels tennis could work on. (source: BBC)
