Tennis players raising concerns over the schedule has been an ongoing storyline. Iga Swiatek, Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, and even Novak Djokovic have all admitted the strain it puts on their performance. A year-round grind with no real pause takes its toll. But last week, Taylor Fritz raised a point that seemed to hit the nail on the head. He wanted to skip out the DC Open, but due to the rules, he couldn’t and now the conversation is alive!
During his run at the Canadian Masters, the American spoke about the Masters expansion this season. He said, “This is a tough part of the year because there’s not really any weeks that make sense to like take off. There’s not a, you know, it’s 1000s, and to be honest, last week and don’t get me wrong, I really like DC and I like playing the tournament, but with how busy my grass schedule was, I would have probably opted out of it.” Fair enough. But his comment lit a conversation.
This was brought up to Toronto Tournament Director Karl Hale on the Nothing Major podcast on August 9. He was asked for his thoughts on players raising the issue during the American swing—and how tournaments respond. Hale’s reply was straight: “Full transparency, it’s mixed. You know, some of the players don’t want to be over in North America for six weeks, but the American players don’t want to be over in Europe for two months in April and May. So you go back and forth.”
Tennis – Wimbledon Championship 2025 – Day 12 LONDON, ENGLAND – Friday, July 11, 2025: Taylor Fritz USA during the Gentlemen s Singles Semi-Final on Day Twelve of The Championships Wimbledon 2025 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Photo by Kirsten Holst/Propaganda LONDON All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club GREATER LONDON ENGLAND PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxUK Copyright: xKirstenxHolstx 2025-07-11-011-Wimbledon_2025_Day_12
Last year, the ATP announced a major shake-up. Seven of the nine Masters 1000 events—including the Canadian Open and Cincinnati—are now stretched to 12-day marathons starting this year. The Italian Open, Madrid Open, and Shanghai Masters made the jump to 12 days last year. On top of that, the ATP has boosted the ATP 500 calendar from 13 to 16 tournaments by upgrading Dallas, Doha, and Munich from ATP 250 status. In total—60 tournaments in 29 countries. A true global tennis party.
But the expansion comes at a cost. Players are feeling the heat. Big names like Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Aryna Sabalenka have skipped the Canadian Open, citing fatigue after Wimbledon. Longer weeks mean more matches, more travel, and rising concerns about injuries, burnout, and player welfare. Something that Taylor Fritz was putting into words.
Noting, “there’s a new rule: you have to play a certain amount of 500 events or you get a zero on your record. And because I was injured early this year, I missed two 500s. So, I actually had to play DC in order to give myself a chance to meet my like 500 quota for the year. So, I’m going to be honest. I don’t think that’s the best rule because I was injured early this year.” It would be impossible if you consider just how many hours players put on the court in competition and practice!
Still, Karl Hale believes in balance. He acknowledged player concerns but urged perspective, reminding everyone tennis is their job. “We should listen and make adjustments where possible, but like any job, you won’t love every part of it. If someone working 9 to 5 doesn’t like Fridays, you don’t just stop on Thursday. We need to be realistic, hear them out, and do our best—without reacting to every request,” he said.
Now, with current players speaking up and former players chiming in, one thing’s certain—this debate isn’t going away anytime soon.
Former No.1 echoes Taylor Fritz concerns
On July 21, the Served podcast took on the big-name withdrawals, with Andy Roddick cutting right to it: “It’s certainly new. We’ve added a week, but they combine them into three weeks,” he said. “I do think this is one of the problems with playing every event over the course of 10-12 days… It’s easier to commit to two weeks, Cincinnati and Montreal… And when you extend the runway further into the summer away from the US Open, I think it makes it an easier ‘No’ for some of the top players that have had success recently.”
His co-host and renowned jouranlist, Jon Wertheim chimed in, sharp as ever: “There are a lot of things we can’t tinker with. There are some immutable forces, right? Gravity, time, the bond market. You know, you can’t make… these players are not robots.”
Wertheim went all in, spelling out the reality: “Whether or not they get fined and whether or not it gets addressed up in a press release and whether or not it’s a real injury versus a bogus injury, they can’t play at the pace that you’re asking them to play. It’s just science, it’s just a force that you can’t mess with, and we can overlap these 10 and 12-day Masters events.” And their thoughts turned to truth for one player on the tour!
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina made his feelings clear last week, slipping a playful jab onto X after bowing out of the Canadian Open: “[Translated from Spanish] Everything’s good. But this calendar… oh my gosh . Now a few days off to .” He’d already vented about his “extremely early” 11 a.m. start, while others played later—a headache when you’re dealing with late nights, tough travel, and lodgings a world away from the courts.
With his open letter and blunt social media posts, Fokina insisted these scheduling woes show “players are not taken into consideration,” and called out the ATP’s lack of follow-through. As Taylor Fritz’s gripes pile up, the big question hangs in the air—will things change next season? Only time will tell. So, what do you think? Sound off in the comments!
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