After being victorious in Basel, Federer has withdrawn from Paris in an attempt to manage his schedule carefully. This might be seen that the 38-year-old legend’s retirement is a looming reality on the horizon.

During last week, Federer sped through his tenth Swiss indoor tournament to win the title. In his home town of Basel, he never dropped a single set against Alex De Minaur during their clash in the finals. Within 69 minutes Federer sealed a 6-2 6-2 victory over his opponent. Then Federer withdrew from the Paris Masters, scheduled the following week. His response to this was that he needs to pace himself to be able to remain longer within the ATP Tour.

Final Year before Retirement

Regardless of his withdrawal from Paris, the 38-year-old tennis star is still planning on playing in the ATP Finals set to take place in London during next month. It has been many years since he last won this season-ending tournament in 2011. Federer’s latest victory in his hometown placed brought him his 103rd ATP title. This is placing him a mere six behind tennis legend, Jimmy Connors. There are always more records to chase within the sport, but the sense that 2020 might be the last year before retirement for this Grand Slam champion with 20 victories behind his name, is growing.

During Federer’s interview following his winning performance in Basel, it became evident that it isn’t as much the physical toll on his body which is holding the star back, but much rather the mental toll on his mind which is getting heavy. While he was addressing the crowd, he was very emotional. He stated that it was indeed due to the hard work of the past week and the flood of thoughts that he had over his family, which led to his emotional breakdown. He also stated that managing four children is one of the significant challenges in his life.

Putting Family First

It is evident that family plays a vital role in the life of this father of four and that even though he is so close to catching up with Connors, he won’t be blinded by that possible achievement and in the process put his mind and body under unnecessary stress. He also stated during a previous interview that he is not planning on chasing records in his career. For this man, his family and his health are getting priority seats in his life, and everything else, including tennis, comes second to that.

For the moment it seems that it would only be injury or if something would happen to his parents which will mean an immediate retirement for Federer. Yet, he very much aware of the fact that his career is coming to an end and that his days on the court, playing for his beloved crowds is quickly running out.

Merely a few weeks after announcing that he will slowly be returning to the court after a hip replacement earlier on in the year, Murray’s career is once again in question. Previously he was urged by his surgeon, referred to as the royal surgeon after operating on the Queen Mother’s hip a couple of years ago, to continue playing. Now he was advised to stop immediately due to the high possibility of cobalt poisoning in his blood if he does stay.

Dr Hannes Rudiger is a medical practitioner at the Schulthess Clinic in Zurich. He has advised Murray to stop playing immediately or otherwise face the catastrophic consequences of cobalt poisoning in his blood. Murray suffered hip resurfacing surgery early on this year and was pain-free for the first time in quite a while after suffering severely from his hip previously.

Since he felt great and was urged by his surgeon to continue playing, that was what he did. He performed very well being back on the court and won the European Open title last week. Dr Rudiger, however, had dampened the joyous moment when he urged Murray to stop immediately. Dr Rudiger stated that he didn’t even think that it would be possible that someone would perform so well after a hip replacement with an artificial hip, but he is concerned about the high risk involved if the player continues to play.

The Birmingham Hip Resurfacing

This procedure has already been performed for the past ten years in Switzerland, although it is still relatively new in England. With the system, a prosthetic hip is implanted to replace the injured bone. Two parts of the bone then rub against each other with their metal surfaces. Dr Rudiger stated that often this kind of surgery had had catastrophic results in Switzerland.

He stated that not only did these hips had to be replaced much sooner than their alternative and that contributed significantly to damage to the body, but they also caused poisoning. Even though Murray did take the option of a slow return to playing competitively, he did now step up to the level of playing singles once again. This is very worrisome for Dr Rudiger.

He explained that the stop and go movement, especially prevalent in tennis, is very damaging to the prosthesis. He is so much in opposition to this procedure that he refuses to do that kind of surgery at all. He stated that these movements which are so damaging to the prosthetic hip cause abrasion to the surface of the prosthetic and that would cause cobalt poisoning in the player’s blood. This will lead to further terrible consequences like the bone mass being attacked, visual damage as well as damage to the nervous system. Dr Rudiger furthermore stated that he strongly advises anyone against that kind of surgery and that the risk is too high and the consequences too severe. Especially for someone with Murray’s career.

The tennis star was inspiring Russian fans when he was signing balls and caps in Moscow, merely hours after his arrival from China where he secured the title in the Shanghai Masters. The native of Moscow is seen as an inspiration to an increasing number of young male tennis players currently infusing the Russian tennis scene. Now, Medvedev is standing at a career-high with his best ranking yet, being at number four in the world.

Being visibly tired, the 23-year-old star admitted to relying on caffeine to keep him awake and still he took the time to smile for selfies and to hand out signatures to his fans. He stated that the support which he gets from the Russians is brilliantly strong and that it is great to have so many people backing your career. Also, the social media in Russia, as well as his many Russian friends, were mentioned for their loyal support.

Inspiring the Young Stars

According to a young fan, Daniil Trefilov, a 19-year-old student, tennis is becoming better and more popular within the country thanks to Medvedev’s influence on the local tennis scene. This is echoed by another young supporter and the leader of an online group who expresses their support for Russia, David Umarkhadzhiyev, who stated that he fell in love with the game of tennis by watching how Medvedev plays. He continued saying that after Marat Safin and Yevgeny Kafelnikov moved out of the tennis scene, there was a certain kind of stagnation in the sport within Russia. For a relatively long period, no men were playing tennis until Medvedev, Andrei Rublev and Karen Khachanov appeared onto the scene. These three players are the top-ranked players presenting Russia on the international courts. Among themselves these three have an internal competition going, continually pushing each other to higher levels of success.

The Kremlin Cup

The Kremlin Cup is set to take place this week in Moscow, but at his time of arrival within the city, Medvedev was still unsure whether he will be playing within the tournament. Even though he is looking relaxed and tanned, he is highly fatigued with his eyes often half shut as he speaks to his fans and the media.

Beyond the friendly rivalry of his fellow Russian players, lies a much stronger competition which needs to be taken head-on. When Medvedev states this rivalry, he is referring to Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. He says that they are playing as if they are coming from another planet. They are truly brilliant and powerful on the court. Everybody else is always trying their utmost best to beat them. He didn’t comment really on a statement earlier made by Boris Becker stating that the young and upcoming generation of tennis players doesn’t have the mental strength to dethrone the older players. He merely confirmed that he is always trying to deliver his best performance.

In the global arena of international tennis, it is not uncommon for legends of the court to misbehave sometimes. This kind of behaviour is frowned upon by the ATP and often results in players being slammed with hefty fines. This time around it is however not a Nick Kyrgios or even a Williams sister who has been misbehaving, but indeed an umpire who made himself guilty of sexual harassment towards one of the underage ball girls. In addition to this offence, he was also in conversation with one of the players during their toilet break, which is considered to be another violation of ATP rules. Gianluca Moscarella has been dismissed from his position with immediate effect, while the investigation continues into his alleged offences.

Calling Her Sexy

During last week’s Florence Challenger, Gianluca Moscarella was in the chair as an umpire during a match between Pedro Sous and Enrico Dalla Valle. It was roughly around the end of the first set which they played that the voice of Moscarella could be heard, speaking to the ball girl who was kneeling next to his umpire chair. The ball girl was only sixteen years old. Even though he was talking in a foreign language, it was understood that he said to the girl that he thinks she is fantastic and that he considers her to be very sexy. He also asked her if she was physically or emotionally hot. His behaviour is deemed to be sexual harassment of the young girl. This was not his only time which he disregarded the ATP rule book.

Some video footage also surfaced of Moscarella in conversation with one of the players during a toilet break, Pedro Sousa, telling him to stay focused and commenting about the heat which is too much. Moscarella was not enjoying the hot temperature and urged Sousa to finish the game off quickly so that all can get out of the heat sooner. Umpires aren’t allowed to converse with players except when on the court.

Gianluca Moscarella

The Italian umpire has been in his position since 2010. During his career as an umpire, he has excelled to the point where he was one of the ATP’s gold badge umpires. This is the highest level that an arbitrator can achieve. Moscarella was immediately suspended when the video footage was brought under the attention of the ATP until further investigation has been completed.

Moscarella isn’t the first ATP umpire who was dismissed from his position this year. Recently they also suspended the 44-year-old Damian Steiner from Argentina. Steiner was umpire during the men’s finals at Wimbledon. According to an ATP spokesperson, Steiner granted many interviews which the ATP didn’t permit. Steiner had many interactions with the media in Argentina, and the ATP didn’t allow him to discuss any of the events which occurred during the match. They considered this improper conduct as enough reason to relieve him from his position with immediate effect.

Naomi Osaka faced fierce competition and on her way to becoming the WTA’s number one ranked player. During June and August this year, she had a short slip down to the position of number two, but since she defeated the Coco Gauff, she was once again in her favourite place. Except for her brilliant skills on the court, the star’s personal life is also often hitting the headlines. She is considered to be the face of multiculturalism, but what more is there to this star’s own life?

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The 21-year old player’s cultural identity seems to be a constant reason for discussion. Osaka is the daughter of her Japanese mother Tamaki Osaka, and her father is a Leonard Francois is a citizen from Haiti. The couple met when her father visited Japan during his student years. She was born in Japan and is currently representing Japan when competing on an international level, but since she was three years old, she lived in Long Island in the United States. Thanks to this multicultural home which she grew up in, she is considered by many as the face of a multicultural future of the world.

Influence of the Williams Sisters

Naomi Osaka became the first singles champion to win a Grand Slam title for Japan. She was only 20 years old during the US Open in 2018 when she defeated Serena Williams for this title. Her victory was somewhat in the shadows of William’s outburst for which she was fined $17 000 during the match. Williams showed a strong reaction when she received a code violation, and her behaviour took the limelight to a certain degree away from the victory of the Japanese star.

Like the Williams sisters, Osaka is also being coached by her father. Francois stated that he found the inspiration to coach Osaka when he read that Richard Williams coached his daughters without ever playing much tennis himself. Francois decided to follow the approach which Williams had with his daughters and applied that to his own two girls since they were still very young. It was already during these early days of their tennis careers that the girl’s parents decided that if their daughter performs well in tennis, they will be representing Japan on an international level.

The Dilemma of Dual Citizenship

The tennis star is currently in possession of dual citizenship. This is another hot topic for many since Japanese law doesn’t allow citizens to have dual citizenship, and by law, Osaka is supposed to hand in one of her passports. The uncertainty remains, however, whether Japan would enforce this law or just let it pass since she is such a star. Others feel again that because she is a star, the government should implement this law. Nothing has been done, and she still has dual citizenship, living a life of true multiculturalism.

Some adore him, and others can’t stand him, either way, ranked fifth on the ATP rankings, this 23-year old Russian tennis superstar is bringing about many emotions in the crowd. Often slapped on the wrist for his temper tantrums on the court and usually having to pay a couple of fines, yet his performance is keeping the crowds engaged.

Fines and Bad Behaviour

Certain kinds of behaviour won’t be tolerated on the court and Medvedev is regularly overstepping the boundaries of tennis etiquette. During the US Open, he threw a towel towards a ball boy in anger and received a $9 000 fine for doing that. He continued however on his rampage and threw his racket towards the umpire’s chair and was regularly showing the middle finger to the crowds. In total thus far in the US Open, his fines amounted to $19 000. He made sure that his feelings towards the masses were clearly stated in his sarcastic commentary after defeating Lopez, thanking them for the energy which they provided so that he could win.

A Sports Psychologist in the Player Box

The player box is usually reserved for family and close friends, but this is the place where Medvedev keeps his therapist. Francisca Dauzet is a Paris based sports psychologist who has been working with Medvedev for just over a year. She is the one who makes notes during his play and seems to calm him down in between or assist him in channelling his rage into a productive outcome and excellent game. Her path crossed with his shortly after a 2017 outburst at Wimbledon when Medvedev started to throw coins towards the umpire accusing him of bribery. He later on admitted that he is ashamed of his behaviour and began to work with her to take control of his outbursts.

Transforming Anger into Achievement

Experts do believe that at least some of his success on the court stems from his anger, yet it needs to be harnessed for the greater good, instead of misbehaving. This is the main focus of a sport psychologist like Dauzat. She needs to assist him in getting positive outcomes from his anger and using it to achieve greatness. Just like others before him, including Federer and McEnroe, he too had to take control of his behaviour.

An additional instigator of his anger is the pain which he experiences due to some injuries. He urged the crowds to boo him since he states that their commentary gives him the energy to overcome the anxiety of his injuries which painkillers don’t numb so that he can deliver his best.

His coach Gilles Cervara mentioned that he is aware of the fact that Medvedev is always ashamed of his behaviour afterwards, but that he needs to stop crossing the line so often. He also mentioned that Medvedev is a tennis genius and that he needs to deal with his behaviour as needed.