At times, it can get quite tiring to see the tennis schedule so routinely lambasted.
However, this is a cause that is crucial for the survival and continued development of the sport, and unless something changes, the consequences will be grave.
Already this season we have seen the start of what the future might hold, with Carlos Alcaraz and now Jannik Sinner suffering from long-term injuries. They are a product of this modern-day system which has failed them.
That being said, Mark Philippoussis has now emerged to contest some of these scheduling complaints.
Whilst he does not explicitly mention the Spaniard or anyone else involved in the cause, the Australian’s points do seem to directly counter what Alcaraz has argued recently.
Mark Philippoussis reacts as tennis players continue to complain about the schedule
Chatting with Clay Tenis, Philippoussis began by using the Big Three’s schedule management as a beacon of how it can be done properly.
He argued: ”You see Federer, Nadal, Djokovic say no because they have a bigger vision, and that was the Grand Slams. So at some stage you get there and say: I’m gonna say no to the six-figure guarantee because this is my goal.”
Is some of the tennis schedule irrelevant?
The 49-year-old continued: “No one has a gun to your head getting you to play all these weeks. You can always say no.
“Tennis, we all know there’s no offseason, and it’s a very difficult thing to balance the calendar. You gotta see what’s best for you. But at the same time, there’s a lot of money involved.
“The weeks where they can have off, that’s normally where they’re getting a lot of money for exhibitions. So they want the weeks off, yet they’re getting a lot of money to play those tournaments, so they’re not saying no. It’s up to them.”
Although Philippoussis might seem to dismiss this very real debate, Alcaraz can take solace from the fact that his campaigning over the years has seemingly led to some meaningful change of late.
Carlos Alcaraz’s complaints have inspired ATP Tour change
Back in 2024, Alcaraz claimed the calendar was getting too much for him. This year, he missed the best part of five months due to injury.
However, as he revealed at the Laver Cup just last month, he actually elongated his absence because of the tennis calendar, seeking to revel in this enforced break before returning to regular action.
The seven-time major champion revealed: “I took more [time out] than I wanted. Seeing how tight the calendar is, obviously I don’t want to have this break because of an injury. But in the future, I’m going to take some breaks… some long breaks.
“Maybe not four months, but one month, two months… start missing some tournaments because it’s impossible to play them all. They’re adding more important tournaments… There are some massive 1000s, Grand Slams, and we have been out playing 40 weeks if we play every mandatory tournament the ATP requires us to play.
“It’s impossible. We’re seeing a lot of players getting injured, a lot of players getting tired. If they don’t do anything about it, we’re going to see it even more in the future.”
Fortunately, the ATP have just announced big changes to the tour that Alcaraz should agree with, suggesting they are moving in the right direction, albeit very slowly.
