“I just hope he doesn’t go to Toronto.” That’s one simple request made by former Spanish icon Àlex Corretja for Carlos Alcaraz ahead of the US Open. Reason? The overwhelming tennis schedule that the World No.2 has gone through this season. Considering his month-long stay in London, for the Queen’s Club and then Wimbledon, where he failed to defend his Gentlemen’s Trophy against Sinner, Corretja pointed out how the gruelling nature of the calendar might be taking a toll on the 22-year-old. And he’s not wrong. Alcaraz himself gave his candid take on this debatable topic across the ATP and WTA circuits. And he’s not alone.
Remember what Carlos Alcaraz said last year during his Laver Cup stint? “Probably they are gonna kill us in some way…” He stressed the fact that “It is difficult. Sometimes I didn’t feel motivated at all. The calendar’s so tight. A lot of tournaments … not as (many) days off as I want. I’ve been feeling this a few times already, that I don’t want to go to that tournament. I want to stay at home with my family and my friends,”
During an episode of The Changeover podcast, Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor minced no words while talking about the problem of the hectic tennis calendar. He began, “I agree there are a lot of tournaments. Especially if you are in the lower rankings, 500, 600, 700 in the world, you are trying to break through, you almost need to play every week because it’s tough with these points.”
Image Credits: Tallon Griekspoor/Instagram
However, he also underlined the cut-throat mentality among most players, especially those ranked lower. “I feel like everybody is making each other a little bit crazy by playing so much. Everybody is playing like catchup every time.” Speaking for himself, he clarified, “I am not the biggest fan of playing so much. Also, because I am someone who enjoys being at home. I am someone who enjoys being around my family, my friends. So at the end of the day, we are our own bosses, we decide when we play.”
Griekspoor’s thoughts echoed Alcaraz’s feelings very clearly. He commented, “If we talk about the ATP schedule, the tour schedule, yeah, that the thousands became two weeks, I am not a big fan of it.” For example, “days off between best of three for men I don’t think it’s needed.” Concluding his response, he simply said, “I understand the whole money thing, I understand the tournaments earn more money but at the end of the day, the only way for us to change it is if we all step up and none of us will show up at one of these tournaments.“
Unfortunately, though, not many are willing to take the initiative. And it’s simply “because there’s just too much money also for us involved in it.” Undoubtedly, Griekspoor’s thoughts mirror Alcaraz’s when it comes to having a very intense schedule. But guess what? Even the WTA star and newly crowned Wimbledon queen Iga Swiatek has got a similar perspective.
Like Carlos Alcaraz, even Iga Swiatek voices out against the WTA calendar
While Iga Swiatek has been a consistent player on the tour among other WTA stars, she’s been very vocal about the entire schedule. Recently, she ended up clinching her maiden Wimbledon trophy on grass in London. The Pole bested America’s Amanda Anisimova with a brutal score line of 6-0, 6-0 in just 57 minutes. But there’s also the other side of the coin.
Despite a lot of success due to appearing in most of the tournaments, the six-time slam winner is not happy with how the current format of the WTA schedule works. And she made it evident last season. Ahead of her campaign at the Cincinnati Masters, she didn’t think twice before making her stance clear. Not to mention, she was extremely annoyed.
The former World No.1 said, “There are sports that are really tough because, physically, you might get beat up. But most sports have four months off, sometimes even six. Our schedule is crazy, and it’s getting more crazy every year, which is scary. You just have to train wisely.”
Seems like Carlos Alcaraz, Tallon Griekspoor, and Iga Swiatek have a valid point, and it makes sense. But there won’t be any visible steps taken from the organizers unless the majority of players from ATP and WTA come together. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.
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