Stefanos Tsitsipas says two-week ATP Masters 1000 occasions lead to a drop in high quality as gamers don’t get sufficient day without work to get well and are pressured into intense coaching to remain in form over a protracted season.
5 Masters tournaments at the moment stretch over two weeks, however earlier this 12 months, the ATP mentioned seven occasions could be held over 12 days every beginning in 2025.
That call didn’t go over nicely with gamers, with Tsitsipas calling it a “backwards transfer” that’s “fixing what wasn’t damaged.”
“The 2-week Masters 1000s have became a drag,” Tsitsipas wrote on X. “The standard has undoubtedly dropped. Gamers do not get the restoration or coaching time they want, with fixed matches and no area for the extraordinary work off the court docket.”
The 2-week Masters 1000s have became a drag. The standard has undoubtedly dropped. Gamers do not get the restoration or coaching time they want, with fixed matches and no area for the extraordinary work off the court docket.
It is ironic that the @atptour dedicated to this format… https://t.co/DrvgODppzJ
— Stefanos Tsitsipas (@steftsitsipas) November 7, 2024
Tsitsipas was responding on social media to former participant Andy Roddick, who mentioned on his podcast that two-week Masters occasions are “so silly” as extra gamers appear to get injured when a weeklong occasion would have allowed them to construct their our bodies up throughout off-weeks.
Reuters has contacted the ATP for remark.
Tsitsipas shouldn’t be the primary energetic participant to criticize the ATP, with four-time Grand Slam winner Carlos Alcaraz saying the tight tennis calendar makes it troublesome to remain motivated all year long and will increase the chance of accidents.
“It’s troublesome. Generally I did not really feel motivated in any respect,” Alcaraz mentioned. “The calendar’s so tight. Lots of tournaments … not as [many] days off as I need.”
Alexander Zverev mentioned earlier this 12 months that the two-week Masters occasions have been nice for gamers ranked between 50 and 100 on the planet as a result of they get an opportunity to play in a main-draw occasion, however the schedule was not excellent for top-10 gamers.
“You do get advised you have got a day in between [matches], you do not have to play on daily basis. On the finish of the day, that is not resting,” Zverev mentioned earlier than the Rome Masters, which was a two-week occasion. “Resting is whenever you’re spending time at dwelling, whenever you’re sleeping in your individual mattress, possibly with your loved ones, possibly together with your canine, possibly together with your children. … That is what resting is.
“Should you’re at a distinct place, that is not resting. Should you’re going deep in occasions … should you’re attempting to make semifinals or finals of each occasion, you are simply away lots longer and it’s a must to work much more. It is so simple as that.”