Carlos Alcaraz has described the tennis calendar as “too demanding” and feels the sport’s decision makers “force” players to play “many tournaments during the year.”
The two-time Grand Slam champion asserted that the schedule “needs to be changed” and suggested that having fewer mandatory tournaments could be one solution.
Many players and analysts have long argued the professional tennis season is too long as play begins in January and runs into November — giving players a very short off-season.
After reaching the final of last week’s Abu Dhabi Open, Daria Kasatkina shone the light on issues related to the calendar. The world No 13 hit out at the WTA tour’s scheduling, given it had left her with very little time before this week’s WTA 1000 event in Doha.
“I don’t know how you can schedule the finals of the tournament on Sunday, wanting to finish the next tournament on Saturday, so you start it on Sunday, and like this, the player, if like me, you don’t have a bye in Doha, I have to play on Monday. And I play finals tomorrow at 5pm,” the 26-year-old said in a press conference.
“We don’t have yet this technology that I can just do like this (snaps her fingers) and be in Doha in five seconds. I have a question, I don’t know to who, to WTA or the tournaments, like, are you guys trying to make players die, or to get injured often?
“I might have to fly Monday and step on the court the same day, after playing five matches here at the highest level. So I’m sorry, but that’s something we have to talk about and consider.
“We’re players, we’re humans and we’re trying to do our job the best we can. But under the circumstances it’s not very easy. I hope this question will be addressed to the right people. And I’m not crying, I’m just saying the facts and the facts are saying that it’s impossible, it cannot be like that.”
In an interview with Elo, Alcaraz was asked about the length of the tennis calendar and argued the current structure is detrimental to the physical health of players.
“It’s too demanding. For example, if you start your season with the first tournament of the year, you are already leaving [home] on December 25 or 26 and then it doesn’t end until the beginning of next December,” the world No 2 said.
“It’s almost a year without stopping playing tournaments, going on tours. It is too demanding and they force us to play many tournaments during the year. I don’t know if there will be any solution, maybe not make so many mandatory tournaments.
“Honestly, I don’t know, but it is true that [the calendar] is too long, too demanding and in the end they also play a lot with the health of the athletes, from spending so much time at the highest level, tournament after tournament. And I think that needs to be changed.”
