Toronto fans were left disheartened as big names like Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner pulled out of the National Bank Open, a move that has stirred growing criticism over the tournament’s extended 12-day format. With the event wedged between Wimbledon, Cincinnati, and the US Open, the brutal scheduling has taken its toll, and players are speaking up. Once a quiet frustration, the issue has now erupted, with the Citi DC Open finalist, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, openly calling out the ATP for what he sees as poor planning. As the heat builds, the NBO’s timing crisis risks becoming a recurring headline unless drastic structural changes hit the court.
Just hours ago, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina took to X, unleashing a fiery message in both Spanish and English that laid bare his frustration with the ATP’s scheduling chaos in Toronto. The Spaniard didn’t mince words, beginning with a polite “Good afternoon” before diving straight into the fire: “Today I want to share my disappointment and frustration with the ATP. Tomorrow, every match starts at 12:30, except ours, which has been scheduled at 11:00. We’re staying one hour away from the club, which means we have to wake up extremely early to arrive in good condition.”
But he didn’t stop there. Davidovich Fokina revealed how their request for a scheduling change was flatly denied: “We’ve asked for a change, but the answer was that everything has already been sold, tickets, TV rights, etc. Once again, it’s clear that players are not taken into consideration. Today it happened to others, tomorrow it’s me, and from the day after, all matches return to 12:30. There are plenty of available courts, yet we’re the only ones playing at 11:00.” The tone was raw, real, and resolute.
Closing the post with stinging clarity, he added: “The ATP always promises they’ll fix things, but nothing ever changes. This isn’t the first time it happens, and when you’re inside, you realize it’s not as great as it looks from the outside.”
(More to come…)
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