ATP Chairman Sheds New Perspective on Issues Concerning the Tennis Schedule

The tennis schedule has come under heavy criticism from top stars like Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev in recent months. The complicated topic has now seen ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi shed new light on the growing issue, stressing that the long schedule is needed.

In the ATP Tour, the top players are required to play a minimum of 18 tournaments each year; four Grand Slams, eight of the nine Masters 1000 competitions, and six ATP 500 events. Several leading players, including Alcaraz have spoken about the schedule, stressing that the demands of the tour are simply too much to handle.

Also, the ATP Masters 1000 events have increased from a one-week event to a two-week format. This has amplified the debate for fewer tournaments in the men’s circuit. Besides that, Holger Rune’s Achilles injury has forced former and current players to lay more emphasis on a shorter schedule on tour.

British No.1 Jack Draper weighed in on the issue, stating that changes need to be made to protect players’ health in the circuit. Taylor Fritz then added to Draper’s comments, stressing that he’s seeing injuries and burnout more frequently on tour than five years ago, which is pretty alarming.

ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi had a press conference at the ATP Finals in Turin and was asked questions about the tour schedule. The former tennis player analyzed that events are needed to help the elite players and those ranked outside the Top 100, who have to play in 250-level tournaments to boost their game:

Obviously, there are different cohorts of players saying it is too much. For others, if you remove, it becomes too less for the others because they need to play. If you lose, you have to go to another tournament and play more matches. That’s why we have the different tiers and categories: Grand Slams, Masters, 500 and 250. We try to balance it for all the cohorts of players, including challengers, because the challengers are also very important for the pathway and to build the champions of the future.

On many occasions, players ranked outside the Top 100 have used the ATP Challengers and 250-level tournaments to gain experience on tour. On several occasions, low-ranked players have also won tournaments, which have boosted their chances of climbing up the tennis ladder.

Andrea Gaudenzi says tennis would have been organized better if it weren’t heavily fragmented

The tennis body has been heavily divided and lacks one voice on many issues bothering it. A few months ago, the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) filed a lawsuit against the governing bodies, alleging that they had engaged in systematic abuse, anti-competitive rules, and blatant disregard for players’ welfare.

During the aforementioned press conference, the ATP Chairman, Andrea Gaudenzi, pointed out that the sport would have been better organized if it had one governing body. He added that players can still choose which tournament to compete in:

Another problem that we have in our system, it is an open system. Players are independent contractors. We have a calendar, but technically, a player can choose where to play. They can prioritise a 250 over a 500, they can prioritise a 500 over a Masters. We have rules that are related to the incentives, to the rankings, we try to influence their behaviour.

Recently, a group of players in the top 10 signed a petition to Grand Slam events, demanding an increase in prize money. Currently, prize money accounts for only 17% of the total revenue in major tournaments, which is an underwhelmingly low percentage compared to other sports.

Also Read: Jim Courier Convinced Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz Will Complete a Clean Sweep of Majors in 2026

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