After Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev's tennis season criticism, ATP chief makes position clear: "Players can decide to play fewer exhibitions"
Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev are two high-profile names who have bemoaned the duration of the tennis season. Both have suggested that the tennis season is unnecessarily longer than it needs to be. Recently, the chairman of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Andrea Gaudenzi spoke up about the subject.
Reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz laid bare his struggles to maintain motivation throughout the grueling season during a press conference at the 2024 Laver Cup.
"Sometimes, you don't want to go to a tournament. I'm not going to lie, I have felt this way a few times already. 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)," Carlos Alcaraz said.
Zverev, the World No. 2 and winner of two Masters 1000s in 2024 (Italian Open and Rolex Paris Masters), had also echoed the Spaniard's sentiments. The German and the Spaniard were teammates at the Laver Cup, where they both contributed to the title coming back to Team Europe.
"We do have the longest season in sports. I mean, I have said it before. It's unnecessarily long. We have unnecessarily, you know, we have unnecessary amount of tournaments," Alexander Zverev said.
However, Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev's perspectives met with some backlash, with many fans calling them out over their appearances at exhibition tournaments with big paychecks. Alcaraz had admitted he was partially motivated by the money on offer to accept the invitation to feature in the Six Kings Slam in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, earlier this year.
Recently, ATP chief Andrea Gaudenzi expressed his thoughts on the subject in an interview with L'Equipe. Gaudenzi opined that it's up to the players to decide if playing exhibition tournaments during a jam-packed season is worth it.
"Some players choose to do a lot of exhibitions off the tour. You don't see that in other sports. The question is whether you want to invest on the tour or off the tour. Shorten the season? OK, but then you have to reduce the number of ATP 250 tournaments . Players can also decide to play fewer exhibitions and spend more time resting," Gaudenzi told L'Equipe.
The ATP chief also touched on mandatory tournaments for players and stressed that tennis players are independent contractors free to schedule their seasons based on their respective preferences.
"Yes, the ranking forces them to play, but it depends mainly on the most important tournaments. We decided to reinforce the Masters 1000 (some moved to two weeks), but that only means one more match if you reach the final . Our players are independent workers and can decide their own schedule," Gaudenzi added.
Meanwhile, Jannik Sinner, the reigning World No. 1, had taken a different stance when he was asked about the duration of the tennis season.
Jannik Sinner's take on length of tennis season contrasted Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev's opinions
At a press conference in the buildup to the 2024 China Open, reigning Australian Open and US Open champion Jannik Sinner subtly disagreed with Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev's critical take on the tennis season. The Italian suggested that players can pick and choose tournaments based on their fitness levels.
"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," Sinner said.
Carlos Alcaraz was later asked to comment on Jannik Sinner's opinion. The Spaniard confessed that the Italian hadn't been as complaining about the situation as he was, but maintained his stance on the subject.