Professional tennis exposed as ‘unequal playing field’ with seeded players given giant leg up

Aussie tennis veteran John Millman has exposed a secret about the professional tennis world that very few fans truly realise.

COMMENT

I love an underdog story. Like so many others when I heard the legend of David and Goliath, I was instantly drawn to David and his sling.

Growing up my old man would tell me stories about a lesser fancied opponent taking on a superior rival in the sporting arenas.

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Alan Bond’s ‘83 America’s Cup victory. The mighty Maroons never backing out of a fight. Last man standing, Steven Bradbury, claiming gold.

When I got older and my tennis became more serious I’d lean on his advice, especially when up against a top seed. He taught me three things that became my mantra.

You start off at 0-0. Don’t play the reputation, play the man. And never leave a fight.

Graduating onto the ATP Tour I learnt a fourth lesson. He was wrong about lesson one.

You don’t start at 0-0. By having unequal opportunities in tournament preparations, the odds before even walking onto the court are stacked against the underdog – for more reasons than most realise.

John Millman of Australia celebrates after winning his first round singles match at the 2022 Australian Open. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

Pending your ranking, whether you are a seed or not, will majorly impact your ability to best prepare at a tournament.

The most significant advantage a seeded player will receive is practice court allocation.

Often at tournaments these players are allowed to book practice courts before anyone else, sometimes for two or three hours alone at a time.

Not only is this advantageous to have the time on a match court but being able to knock out their practice continuously allows them to begin their recovery earlier. Get in and get out.

On the flip side their counterparts often are sharing. Four a court for one hour onsite and lucky if they get a second hour timeslot much later in the day.

Having to cool down and warm up again, their days are longer spent onsite.

They should consider themselves lucky if they even get a court at the venue.

Many times you are ordered offsite to practice and on a surface with a totally different court speed.

Superstars such as Roger Federer are afforded all the luxuries on tour. (AFP PHOTO / PETER PARKS)

A good example of this is at the US Open. If you are looking for a non-seeded player you’d be better off going to the public park next door, where practice takes place on non-resurfaced courts with bubbles in them. This is not an abnormal occurrence.

It’s quite a luxury when you do manage to organise a hit with a notable player.

All of a sudden the rationing of your six-ball allotment becomes irrelevant when an unlimited supply of new ball tins are being cracked open when the old ones have become too hairy.

Those new balls are being chased around by the big support teams that have received extra accreditation from the tournament.

Even if there is a big court available you must ensure that you play with a tournament favourite.

I learnt that the hard way at Indian Wells when I managed to secure a premium two-hour slot on centre court with Rafael Nadal.

Unfortunately, Covid struck and Nadal had to cancel last minute as he sought a flight home to Spain.

Rafael Nadal and John Millman shared a good relationship on tour. (Photo by Kena Betancur / AFP)

When the tournament found out that I still planned to use the court with a lesser-known player, they told me that because I was a nobody, I wouldn’t be allowed entry on the court.

It’s hard to believe but they’d rather have the court empty than have a few “no names” hit on their precious bitumen.

At the French Open we will get to see plenty of match-ups where a lower ranked player takes on a high seed.

Most of the time that underdog is not just playing his more fancied opponent but the crowd also.

Even in a sold-out Rod Laver Arena on home soil against the great Roger Federer I witnessed first-hand that many of the crowd were in Roger’s corner.

But perhaps in this year’s French Open you can join me in cheering on the underdog because it is an uneven playing field and they need all the help they can get to start the match at 0-0.

John Millman is an Aussie tennis veteran, with one ATP Tour title to his name and a victory over Roger Federer in the fourth round of the 2018 US Open.

You can follow him on Twitter here.