Seeking the right balance of tournaments to suit players, fans, broadcasters and sponsors is a major headache in tennis and it poleaxed organisers of the Paris indoor event again this week. The withdrawals of many of the leading names in the men's game from the last Masters Series tournament of the season raised more questions than they offered answers.
Are all the players injured or just tired at the end of a long year? With so much money sloshing around the circuit, was a trip to Paris in November not a big enough attraction for some? Should they be sanctioned for withdrawing at late notice? Organisers of the European Masters Series events met in emergency session on Tuesday but could not come up with a panacea.