'Way too much tennis' in 'unsustainable' calendar, says Laura Robson

Former British number one Laura Robson has said there is "way too much tennis" in the sport's current calendar.

Robson, who announced her retirement last month at the age of 28, said "the schedule is not sustainable".

She is concerned not just about the longevity of players' careers, but the sport's environmental impact.

"We need to be more aware of what we're doing and be more cohesive throughout the tour about tackling this issue," Robson told BBC Sport.

The ATP and WTA Tours run from January to November, starting in Australia then going back and forth across the planet.

The ATP Tour comprises 68 events in 2022, while the WTA Tour features 54.

"I love watching tennis - I work in the sport still - but I feel the schedule is not sustainable, for any players," Robson added.

"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. It's something that needs to be more at the forefront of our planning."

Robson was speaking at an environmental panel event at Wimbledon, to mark the tournament's environment day and highlight the steps it is taking to reduce its emissions to net-zero by 2030.

Reusable cups are now available for hot drinks, joining those introduced for cold drinks last year, and there is a wider variety of plant-based food available, including cream for the iconic Wimbledon strawberries.

"Dominic Thiem is one of the only guys on the ATP Tour that's consistently bringing the subject up - tennis is not an environmentally friendly sport," said Robson.

"We're travelling every week and not only that, when you get to tournaments, there's a lot of cars but not a lot of sharing, and [players] travel with four to five people sometimes so it's amplified week in, week out.

"It doesn't help when you see players with single-use plastic water bottles. As soon as we start getting rid of things like that and maybe try some fresh ideas in terms of travel schedule then maybe more players will start feeling OK about speaking out, but I really feel they can take the initiative here and just do it anyway."

She added: "Tennis is a bubble - you're very insular - but I'm much more aware of things like this now that I've stopped playing.

"If it comes up at every press conference, it'll be spoken about more freely. Players will become more comfortable once they're a bit more educated on the topic and we can all move forward as a group."