Copyright yardbarker
Another day, another top tennis player calling out the ATP Tour for its absolutely brutal schedule. This time, it’s the one and only Carlos Alcaraz, who, despite being a young gun, is already feeling the burn. Honestly, who can blame him? The guy is basically expected to be a tennis-playing machine, jet-setting across the globe week after week with barely enough time to do laundry, let alone rest and recover. Speaking at a press conference before the Paris Masters, Alcaraz didn’t hold back. When asked about the ideal number of matches a player should have in a season, he gave the most diplomatic non-answer possible, which in itself spoke volumes. “Well, I don’t have an exact number of matches that we should play,” he said, before getting to the real issue. “However, they obviously need to do something with the calendar.” You don’t say, Carlos. It’s a sentiment we’ve heard a million times, yet it seems to fall on deaf ears at the ATP headquarters. Alcaraz is just the latest in a long line of players to point out the obvious: the tour is a relentless grind that’s chewing up and spitting out its biggest stars. Alcaraz on the Never-Ending Tennis Season For anyone who doesn’t follow the pro circuit, let me paint a picture for you. The ATP calendar is an 11-month marathon. It kicks off in late December and doesn’t wrap up until the Tour Finals in November. This year, the season ends on November 16th, and the next big event, the United Cup, starts just over a month later on January 2nd. The Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year, follows shortly after on January 18th. That’s not a break; that’s a long weekend. “The number of tournaments that we have to play, I think, is too high,” Alcaraz explained. “We don’t have such, you know, a good period of time that we can practice, we can rest. Even during the season, I think it is week after week after week and we don’t have the chance to have a week just to prepare pretty well for the tournaments.” It’s a wonder these athletes can even remember what city they’re in. This isn’t about being pampered millionaires; it’s about basic human biology. The constant travel, high-stakes matches, and lack of recovery time are a perfect recipe for injuries and burnout. And Alcaraz has already had to make some tough calls to protect himself. Why Player Health Should Be a Priority
