From John McEnroe, Andy Roddick to Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner: How the discourse over the hectic tennis calendar has taken over the ATP world
Carlos Alcaraz opened up about the hectic tennis schedule after his Laver Cup win against Ben Shelton. The Spaniard arrived in Beijing just days after helping team Europe win the Laver Cup and is set to play in the China Open that begins this week.
Alcaraz's call about the hectic tennis scheduling has been backed by some of the most prominent figures in tennis. In the past, the women's World No. 1, Iga Swiatek has made a similar complaint against the back-to-back mandatory WTA tournaments. Even Andy Roddick and John McEnroe have backed Alcaraz after his latest call to improve the tennis schedule.
Speaking after his match against Shelton at the Laver Cup, Carlos Alcaraz admitted that it is tough to stay motivated for all tournaments. He further added that the 'tight' schedule has left him with very few days off.
"Well, honestly it is difficult. I mean, sometimes I didn't feel motivated at all. It is a difficult moment. As I said many times, you know, the calendar is so tight, a lot of tournaments, no days off or not as much days off as I want," Alcaraz said.
The 21-year-old added that sometimes he does not want to go to tournaments and instead wants to take days off. He was also critical of the constant traveling, lack of free time and jet lag, claiming he participates in some tournaments against his will.
"Sometimes I really want to take some days for myself that I can't because I have to practice, I have to travel, I have to, you know, the jet lag sometimes when you're traveling around the world. So sometimes you don't want to go to tournaments. I have been feeling this, you know, this feeling few times already that I don't want to go to that tournament because I want to stay at home with my family or my friends," he said.
Alcaraz's claim was backed by former World No. 1 Andy Roddick who encouraged him to skip the 'mandatory' tournaments. The American backed the Spaniard's claim about hectic tennis scheduling and urged him to skip some 'mandatory tournaments' to call out the ATP's bluff.
"You know what Carlos, just stop playing the f**king mandatory events, see what they do. I'm going to guess they're not going to kick you off tour. I'm going to guess that you're going to be fine. Call that bluff. I get so pissed about it because it's just the same conversation all the time," Roddick said.
Another former American star, John McEnroe has weighed in with his opinion about the same. During the Laver Cup run, McEnroe, captain of Team World, urged the players to boycott Grand Slam tournaments to sort out tennis scheduling.
McEnroe claimed that boycotting a Grand Slam would send a strong message to the authorities and the organizers, showing their commitment to affordability and accessibility. However, the former World No. 1 wondered if current players would come together to boycott a Major.
"In order to get what we want, and I’m speaking for myself, I’m not speaking for Roger Federer or Carlos Alcaraz, you probably need to boycott a major or two. That’s the only way to show these guys we mean business but I don’t know if the players of today would be willing to do that," McEnroe said.
Like Alcaraz, Swiatek has also spoken against the hectic tennis scheduling. She stated that the WTA scheduling 10 years ago was better because it allowed the player to pick and choose tournaments instead of playing in mandatory events.
According to the WTA rulebook, a player must compete in 21 tournaments, including four Grand Slams and 10 WTA 1000 tournaments.
"I think it needs to be changed, because also, I think it's going to be better for fans. I would say tennis was as interesting ten years ago with the other system that we had, it was fine. And players, if they wanted to play 500 tournaments to get their ranking better, they did that, but they weren't forced too," Swiatek said.
Jannik Sinner disagrees with Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek over scheduling issues
While top tennis stars like Alcaraz and Swiatek have voiced their concerns over tennis schedules, Jannik Sinner has chosen another route. He has subtly disagreed with his peers on the matter.
The ATP World No. 1 agreed that the tennis schedule is longer than before but players can still manage their schedule by skipping some tournaments, apart from the mandatory ones.
"Yeah, the schedule is quite long obviously these years. But we players, we can still choose what to play and what not to play. Obviously we have some mandatory events, yes. As a player, you can still choose. I think of that," Sinner said.
The Italian used himself as an example while elaborating the point further, claiming that he missed a few tournaments in the last two years to work on his game. However, he did admit that the season is long and hectic for every player involved.
"It is a very busy schedule this year; there are a lot of tournaments. You don't have to play a tournament. If you want, you can play. If not, you don't play. For example last year and also this year, I didn't play some tournaments because I wanted to practice. There are some choices behind this. In general, yeah, the season is quite long, so sometimes it's not easy," he added.
Jannik Sinner has enjoyed his best-ever season winning the Australian Open and the US Open. The Italian will be back in action, along with his rival Carlos Alcaraz, at the China Open in Beijing.