Carlos Alcaraz has been a vocal critic of the tennis calendar, and he expanded on that criticism after experiencing more scheduling troubles recently.
The Spaniard has joined a growing list of players expressing concern over the tennis calendar. While it’s been known for a while that the tennis calendar is too long, it’s something not necessarily within the control of players.
If it were, it would likely be far shorter with fewer events. However, more players have begun speaking out publicly. That's about all they can do outside of expressing concerns behind closed doors.
Now, the Spaniard found himself in scheduling trouble once more after a strong run at the 2024 China Open. He made the final and beat Jannik Sinner in three sets, but that also meant he would have a really short turnaround for the Shanghai Masters, as that event started on the day of the final in Beijing.
He had to board a flight to Shanghai immediately, hoping to recover from the past week and prepare for the new event, with his first match initially scheduled to take place less than 48 hours after the final.
That’s only because he’s a seeded player; otherwise, he might have had to play the next day. In light of this, Alcaraz was asked about the schedule, and he reiterated what he’d said before.
"Well, I said so many times, the tennis schedule is so tight, but we have to get used to it, or I guess we have to. Yeah, yesterday we finished 8:30, 9:00, three-hours match, and then I had no time to do anything else."
"I just went to the club before the final with all the bags, because I knew that we had to run after the finals to take the flight to come here. We arrive at 4:00 a.m., just to be ready or just to have some sleep here in Shanghai, and woke up here in Shanghai, as I said, to get used to the conditions here and try to be ready for my first match. "
"The tennis schedule is so, so tight. We are traveling, you know, from tournament to tournament, with just one or two days before the tournament begins, so it is difficult, but we have to get used to it."
It was a tight schedule for Alcaraz, but not just for him. Jannik Sinner had to endure the same journey because he also contested that final. Alcaraz was able to get six hours of sleep, which he obviously didn't deem enough after such a battle, but he hopes to be ready for his first match.
"Well, I just had six hours of sleep, so I couldn't sleep more. Yeah, now I came here today, I'm going to rest a little bit, I think I need it. Tomorrow I'm going to start practicing, and then Saturday I'm going to try to play my best."
"Yeah, I will try to get used to, as much as I can, just one practice, one hour, one hour and a half, let's see, but I think I'll be ready. But, yeah, as I said, we have not too much time to practice, to get used to these conditions, but as a tennis player we have to do it."