Intense tennis scheduling has now become a hot topic in the racquet sport! Is it one of the major reasons why we’re seeing frequent injuries in both men’s and women’s Tours? Well, it’s never pleasing for organizers or even the fans to see players withdrawing from tournaments to get proper recovery time. However, perhaps it’s high time to take a look at the perspectives put on by the players regarding these issues in the last few years. Recently, Carlos Alcaraz criticized the congested tennis calendar, saying “They are going to kill us in some way.”
We also saw Alexander Zverev taking a jibe at intense tennis scheduling and now a renowned tennis journalist has also called out for a change! Just a few days ago, during the press conference at the Laver Cup, Alexander Zverev said, “There is no sport in which so much is played, it cannot continue like this. It puts the health of the players at risk, it is inconceivable that a season begins on December 29 and ends in the second week of November.”
Now, renowned journalist Charlie Eccleshare of The Athletic outlined his opinion on this burning issue during The Tennis Podcast. During Monday 23 September’s episode of The Tennis Podcast, Eccleshare spoke on how can Laver Cup has evolved over the years and what can be done in the next few years to attract more players and fans towards this tournament.
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He revealed, “I think the bigger problem is the tennis schedule as a whole. Like there absolutely should be a room for an event like the Laver Cup in tennis. And I think if the rest of the Tour like had a proper rest period built in where an event like the Laver Cup would fit in. It’d make more sense to me.”
Polls of the day Poll 1 of 5 Do you agree with Alexander Zverev’s criticism of the ATP? Absolutely Not at all Partially Need more information Who do you think is the greatest tennis legend of all time? Andre Agassi John McEnroe Roger Federer Rafael Nadal Whats your Perspective on: Is Alexander Zverev right about the ATP’s flaws, or is he just making excuses for his performance? Have an interesting take? Join The Debate Who will come out on top in the Cilic vs. Zhang showdown? Marin Cilic Zhizhen Zhang Too close to call Don’t care Who do you think will come out on top in the Musetti vs. Shang showdown? Lorenzo Musetti J.C. Shang Too close to call Don’t care
via Reuters Tennis – ATP Masters 1000 – Italian Open – Foro Italico, Rome, Italy – May 14, 2021 Germany’s Alexander Zverev during his quarter final match against Spain’s Rafael Nadal REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
Previously, we saw players like Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek complaining about the same issue. Djokovic said, “The season is long. For me, it’s too long in my opinion.” After the Paris Olympics, Swiatek claimed, “Our calendar is crazy!” Recently, because of the heavy workload, she was even forced to withdraw her name from the Korea Open. Even Andy Roddick stated, “The tennis scheduling situation is a total mess” during the US Open. So, this issue has been giving birth to some heated reactions from the bigwigs of the tennis world in the last few months. Alexander Zverev even got engaged in a heated argument with a journalist during the same press conference at the Laver Cup!
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Alexander Zverev loses his cool while speaking on the harsh scheduling in the racquet sport
Zverev has spent more hours on the court than any other player on the men’s tour this year. He has played around 75 matches across 19 events and that’s almost 172 hours of play. Next to him on the list is Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti, who has spent almost 129 hours on the court. Even in March this year, we saw Alexander Zverev raising concerns that the demanding schedule is having a serious impact on players’ bodies. During his recent interview at the Laver Cup, a journalist asked him if the players were planning for a protest to put more pressure on the higher officials.
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After hearing this question, the German posed a blatant question, “For what? It’s all about money here. It’s the only thing that matters for the ATP. We players have no decision-making power. OK, what would you do? Tell me. No, seriously. Many times journalists come here to ask us things that are impossible to answer. Now I want to know what you would do.” He spoke about how players have to keep on playing if they want to be number one in the world or win a Grand Slam in their careers. “With this calendar, you have to play many weeks a year and it is unsustainable. This week we can talk and we all agree on many things, but we cannot change anything,” he added.
He explained to him that since tournaments have a license, players can’t do much about this. Zverev said if they tried to boycott something, then they would lose money and other players would take their place. So, he strongly opined this is an issue that has no short-term solution. Amid all these, Zverev has now also announced his withdrawal from the China Open. So, the withdrawal of the world number two is surely going to upset the Chinese fans and the tournament organizers. What do you think could solve this problem in the tennis world?