ON TENNIS — For a noncontact sport, tennis has long had a high attrition rate. The grind of the international travel and the extended rallies often adds up to trouble.
But there has never been a season quite like this in modern men’s tennis: one where so many leading players have failed to reach the finish line.
“To me it doesn’t set off a red light; it sets off a yellow light,” said Paul Annacone, a former pro who later coached Pete Sampras, Tim Henman and Roger Federer. “Let’s see if it continues. I think it’s been one of those years, but if it goes into 2018, then I would start to go, ‘What is happening?