Based on what I gather, here are my impressions of the new calendar. Keep in mind that I could be wrong with some of these assumptions, this is only based on what I gathered from one quick read.
Good:
Penalizing players for missing 8 tournaments; instead of just five.
- This rewards the most dedicated players and penalizes the prima donnas like the Williamses and Sharapovas who think they are bigger than the sport. I hope they go one step farther and kick them out of the next grand slam, as well.
Better hospitality.
- Players now get more of their hotel costs paid for by the tour. They, of course, should cover all travel expenses as virtually every major sport does. The longer off-season is nice, too.
Bad:
Limiting participation of top players in international tournaments.
- They have greatly watered down the value of winning smaller tournaments. I think it's ridiculous when you hear someone say or infer that since Flavia Pennetta has won more tournaments than Daniela, she has had a better career. The former tier fours were already a lost cause but limiting the former tier threes to one top twenty player apiece is absurd. You're going to have mediocre players ranked between 30-40 winning plenty of titles throughout the year. Meanwhile, players like Daniela, Schnyder, Bartoli, etc will have limited opportunities to win titles as they will be locked out of most small tournaments and not quite good enough to win big tournaments. (There will still be upsets in larger tournaments, of course).
The second YEC in Bali
-This second YEC for Bali is going to be a joke with these rules. Not counting the ranking points accrued in the big tournaments is foolish. You won't get players 9-16 there; instead, you'll get players 25-32. Are there any other wrestling fans out there? This is analogous to what WWE's intercontinental title has become. It only works if you have athletes considered just a step below the top level, not the players who can't hack it with the big girls so they play only the small events.
There are no premium tournaments in the whole month after Wimbledon.
- Why not just shave a week or two off of the off-season?
Ranking system
- It's just a spin off of what they have now. Again, the system needs to take into account opponent adjustments and give more weight to more recent results.