The tennis schedule is one of the most debated and scrutinised areas of the sport, by players, pundits and fans alike.
Naturally, the former are almost always the most vocal, as they are the ones who suffer more than anyone else.
Carlos Alcaraz’s complaints remain the most regular and passionate, but Jack Draper recently claimed the ATP Tour is putting an entire generation in danger, in a rare and passionate plea for change.
And now, it is Chris Eubanks who has suggested how these frustrations might manifest in the coming years, and how players will retaliate if their demands are not met.
Chris Eubanks makes prediction about the tennis schedule
Chatting with Mark Petchey on the Big T podcast, the American pundit was already discussing Alcaraz when the topic of the schedule came up.
Naturally, nowadays, they go hand in hand, and it prompted Eubanks to claim: “As much as he’s spoken about how long the season is, I think we’re gonna start to see more of the top men, as much as the ATP may not like it, just taking certain weeks and saying, this one just isn’t worth it in the grand scheme of things.
Give us one bold prediction for the final months of the 2026 tennis season!
“Like, they’re gonna have to pick and choose their moments, whether they’re 500s, maybe they’re 1000s. That’s not what the ATP wants, because they want all the big names.
“They’ve lowered the number of 500s that are commitments from five to four, I believe. It’s gonna be a lot of trial and error as well. Players will start to kind of prioritise.”
Alcaraz’s desperation to play Madrid might have to be overlooked for these proposed schedule changes, with Eubanks arguing that this event could suffer from a similar issue that Canada does.
He finished by referring to both Alcaraz and Sinner, who have endured lengthy periods out injured in 2026.
Eubanks concluded: “It’ll be interesting to see how Carlos elects to kind of go about his season and Jannik when he returns, as well.
“Like, these injuries happening for these guys at such young ages. From the players themselves, to their coaches, to their agents, and their teams, they’re gonna say, listen, we gotta be smart about this, and so we have to pick and choose our moments, and it’ll be interesting to see what adjustments the ATP makes in response.”
Alcaraz has already confirmed that he will take more breaks in the coming years, in order to avoid getting burnt out.
