Federer, Djokovic, Henin, Sharapova and Co should all stop moaning

Many of the top players are complaining about the punishing schedule on both the ATP and WTA tours. They are dismayed that many big tournaments are scheduled so close together that it does not give them time to recover from one week to another.

But aren't they supposed to fit and champions? Can they really not play 15 to 20 tournaments a year? I think they are complaining too much and should just get on with the game. Injuries are part and parcel of sport and the players get paid enough money while they are playing on tour that they should be able to keep fit and show the paying fans what they are capable of doing.

The ATP tour has, in the space of four weeks, had three Masters Series events take place in Monte Carlo, Rome and this week in Hamburg. With the French Open only two weeks away some of the top players think the schedule is too much to handle, and in Rome last week we saw several top players such as Nicolas Almagro, Fernando Gonzalez, Radek Stepanek and Andy Roddick pull out because of injury.

It’s not great for the tournament itself especially when two of these retirements came in the semi-finals. The paying spectators were dismayed and rightly so. However the scheduling is not the problem, it’s the mentality of the players to be able to cope with back-to-back tournaments and their own fitness.

Since the beginning of the year Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Roddick have only played in seven tournaments, hardly a busy schedule, and Rafael Nadal has played nine. Of course Nadal will be busy in the coming weeks. Clay is his favourite surface and he wants to do well.

If he was a better hard court player then he could rest more on the clay, just like Roddick has done. I understand it can be gruelling for some players but that’s what makes a champion and it has always been like this. I don't hear players complaining when they carting loads of money from these big tournaments.

The WTA tour is the same. A hardworking Vera Zvonereva has not complained about her schedule so far and has played the most out of the top players, being highly successful too. Justine Henin, Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams have hardly pushed themselves to play lots of tournaments this year and rely on winning the 'big ones' to keep their rankings high.

The amount of time spent endorsing products, filming adverts and media commitments should maybe be reduced instead of the tennis schedule. But because these endorsements bring in megabucks for the women, they seem happy to spend their time in make-up.

They need to balance out their lives like their male counterparts. They have coaches, the best physios and fitness gurus around and so should be able to cope easily with the demands of the tour. And isn’t it funny how most complain after being BEATEN in a tournament?

There is plenty of time for players to take a breather from playing and many do. But in an age where TV is a powerful influence and the potential earnings of players is high, then there is always going to be some months that players have to play more than others.

It happens in football too. If you are successful you can have FA Cup, Champions League and Premier League games all in the same week, but that’s what top class sport is all about.

Players should stop complaining, be tougher mentally, think of the tournaments as a challenge and then they may get more success. Fans deserve to see good quality tennis and the players have enough money to pay the best staff to keep them fit and ready for each week.