Are Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek & others right in complaining about an overdose of tennis?
Carlos Alcaraz played a vital role in guiding his Spanish troops to the final eight of the Davis Cup in early September. The 21-year-old was again in action less than seven days later to help Team Europe win the Laver Cup. Now, five days after his Laver Cup exhaustion, Alcaraz is in Beijing, set to compete at the China Open against some of the best players in the world.
From playing in Spain for the Davis Cup to flying to Berlin for the Laver Cup to now competing in China in less than a month, September has been hectic for Alcaraz and many top players who competed in all three tournaments.
With more events and mandatory tournaments added to the tennis schedule, Alcaraz and others have decided to take a stand against tennis scheduling. And from what it seems, they have all the reasons to be concerned about.
Carlos Alcaraz and other top stars speak against the hectic tennis schedule
After his win against Ben Shelton at the Laver Cup, Carlos Alcaraz candidly opened up about his thoughts on the tennis schedule. The Spanish star claimed that the tiring trips across countries and mandatory events would 'kill the players', while also talking about the lack of motivation to compete due to the hectic tennis schedule.
Alcaraz believes that the high number of tournaments is causing injuries to players, reducing their chances of competing at their best. He further added that it is hard to stay motivated to compete in all tournaments but he wants to try his best to enjoy on the court.
"Probably they are going to kill us in some way. Right now a lot of good players are going to miss a lot of tournaments because of that [injury]. Sometimes, you don't want to go to a tournament. Sometimes I don't feel motivated at all. But as I've said many, many times, I play my best tennis when I smile and enjoy it on court. That's the best option to keep motivating (myself)," Alcaraz said.
Alcaraz has already played in 52 singles matches in 2024 with the Asian swing and the ATP Finals yet to go. Like him, the WTA World No. 1, Iga Swiatek has also taken a stand against the current tennis scheduling.
Swiatek compared the current WTA schedule to 10 years ago when there were fewer mandatory tournaments and events. The Polish star believes that constant tournaments and travels are affecting the player's ability to perform at their best.
"But I think players are aware that this is crazy what's going on and the schedule is really tough. I know that, I mean, I spoke about it in Cincinnati, for example, and there are people saying that, oh, I don't have to play so many tournaments. The system that WTA had, like, I don't know, 10 years ago, was bad? Because they had, like, 11 mandatory tournaments or 12," Swiatek said, via Tennis Infinity.
Brit star Jack Draper has been critical of the tennis schedule this season calling it 'mental'. The Brit No. 1 feels that the constant change of surface for different tournaments could be fatal in the longer run for players. He further doubted the longevity of his own career after a lengthy season like 2024.
“It’s a mental calendar. Since Miami time (in March), I just haven’t had any time. We went straight into the clay, then straight onto the grass, straight to the Olympics, straight out to Montreal, Cincinnati, training week, US Open, here, then it’s Asia, then it’s indoor season. It’s my opinion that it’s going to be very hard for players of my age to achieve longevity any more," Draper said, via MSN.
Jack Draper has played 49 single matches this year with the Asian swing coming up. However, with more money involved than ever and different countries trying to get on the tennis map, it seems that the scheduling issues are here to stay.
The 'Netflix Slam' and the 'Six Kings Slam' set to add more matches to an already hectic tennis schedule
Netflix announced their annual match, the 'Netflix Slam' in 2024. This year, the Spanish duo of Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz graced the stage for the digital giants with different players expected for the second edition. Now, another new tournament 'Six Kings Slam' is set to begin in October.
The debut 'Six Kings Slam' is set to feature Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune. The event will last for over three days and will take place in the Saudi capital Riyadh.
With these new events on the horizon and some of the Masters tournaments played over two weeks for the first time, the players are right about their concern with the hectic schedule.
Carlos Alcaraz could potentially end up playing more than 70 singles matches this year, which is too much even for a 21-year-old like him. Draper could cross 60 matches in a single season as well if he reaches the later stages of the Asian swing.
Fans losing interest in the matches can also be a repercussion of constant tennis matchups. The all-Chinese encounter at the China Open between Juncheng Shang and Yunchaokete Bu started with zero audience in attendance.
This year alone, many WTA and ATP stars had to shift from clay courts during the French Open to the grass courts for Wimbledon to clay courts again for the Olympics in just over a months time. Constantly changing surfaces could result in injuries and the authorities will have to eventually step in if the top tennis stars continue to voice their opinion against the current schedule.
Now, the players will be back in action for the China Open before the Six Kings Cup in Riyadh, then the ATP Finals in Turin, and then the Australian Open again.