The fifth Slam debate: Can Miami or Indian Wells be one?

The BNP Paribas Open at Miami

For years, tournament directors at Indian Wells and Miami have consistently said that their tournaments deserved to be called the “fifth Slam”. To be very honest, on the surface a “fifth Slam” sounds like a ridiculous prospect to fit into an already packed calendar with players hardly getting a breather. That being said, a Slam could theoretically be accommodated at either Indian Wells or Miami, but would see the tournament that is not chosen for it be reduced in the number of days and the size of draws.

Indian Wells vs Miami

Indian Wells and Miami are both fantastic spring hardcourt Masters tournaments, where everyone loves to play. One has to say that Miami holds the edge when it comes to locational as well as cultural benefits. This is because, in Ernests Gulbis’ words, Indian Wells is a white man’s tournament located in the quiet suburbs of California, and is not too accessible. Ernie said it was a let down as people dreamed of playing in a tournament that big, but on reaching there from across the pond, they found it to be quite boring. Miami on the other hand is an absolutely vibrant and happening city which is an extremely popular tourist destination. Miami has a much more culturally diverse population with plenty of Latin and South Americans forming a large part of the crowd.

Miami has an edge because it could be considered the Slam of Latin America. However, if you ask me, neither Indian Wells nor Miami can be a fifth Slam despite both having excellent facilities. The major reason – the USA already has a Slam.

So that leaves us with a destination problem. Tennis on the African continent is growing only gradually; South Africa is leading the way with Kevin Anderson a flag-bearer for the game. That safely rules out hosting a Grand Slam in Africa as the continent needs a good 10-20 years to have experience and can only gradually begin hosting higher level events.

Asia offers a strong destination with the likes of China, Japan and even India coming to mind. People would argue that the Australian Open is the Grand Slam of Asia-Pacific but that is a load of bull****. The continent of Asia has fantastic tennis players and facilities, multiple Grand Slam champions, highly respected professionals and more than anything else a vast sporting audience.

Players like Li Na, Zheng Jie, Shuai Peng, Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, Sania Mirza, Kimiko Date Krumm, Kei Nishikori, Denis Istomin, Somdev Devvarman and Rohan Bopanna are names that immediately come to mind. There are some eye-catching facilities in China (see Shanghai Masters), and the continent offers a great alternative which will help tennis’ global image. India is not yet ready for a Slam, but needs and deserves more than the solitary Chennai Open ATP tournament on offer.

South America is a continent that has produced many a great dirtballer but its major flaw is lack of security in the major countries (Sao Paulo for example has a spectacularly high crime-rate).

Do we need a fifth Slam?

The tennis calendar is overloaded, with December being the time for players to “recuperate”. And the start to the year is rigorous and so players don’t really have much time off. The tennis season is gruelling as it is, with many a Masters or Premier event offering a mouth-watering array of money as well as points. Also, the calendar is spread out all over the world, with tournaments being held in Tokyo and Los Angeles, South Africa and Moscow, Bogota and Australia. Only the Antarctic doesn’t hold a tennis tournament, which is not that surprising.

A jam-packed calendar makes the task of fitting another two-week tournament daunting, and one has to imagine other tournaments will have to give way which is never a good thing. Throw the Olympics in the mix once every four years, and the tour will render players injured and tired of a grim routine.

Also, the surface of the Slam poses another question. There are already two hard-court Slams to go with one on grass and one on clay. Clay has many tournaments and two different times of the year known as the “clay-court season” – one after the American spring and one after Wimbledon. So there really is no need for another Slam as it complicates matters immensely and a lot of friction will arise regarding the surface.

On a personal note, I find it ridiculous to even think about another two-week tournament.

There is a simple alternative and something I feel that must be done. There are too many hard-court Masters series events – a total of 6 – and there is also the “World Tour Finals” on hard courts. What is alarming is the lack of grasscourt tournaments. Outside of Wimbledon, only four ATP 250 tournaments take place. Grass was the original tennis surface and regardless of technology, must be saved. There should be at least one ATP Masters event on grass. A true fan of the game knows this. It must be done.

So, no fifth Slam at all! But yes to a grass court Masters because the game has to be preserved.