Ruud Finds Flaws In New Two-Week Events In Madrid & Rome
ATP
The ATP Masters 1000 events generally used to be one-week events, but in recent times, a few of those were extended to two-week events, and Casper Ruud is not a fan of that.
For the majority of the history of the ATP Masters 1000 events, the events tended to be one-week tournaments. Most still are, but some, like the Sunshine Double of the Indian Wells Open and the Miami Open, have been longer because they have bigger draws as well.
Similar to those tournaments, the Italian Open in Rome and the Madrid Open are set to expand, becoming essentially two-week events after being one-week tournaments for much of their history, and Casper Ruud doesn’t think it’s a good thing.
In fairness, there have been many opinions on the matter, with some being in favor of the change and others not being in favor of it, as it mostly comes down to player preference.
Most would argue that with the long season, players would rather get it over with quickly than extend the tournaments for too long. For Ruud, it’s mostly to do with the logistical side of things because there are instances where such extended events can create many problems for players, as he named Taylor Fritz and Diego Schwartzman as examples.
"A player like Schwartzman and Fritz, if they lose early in Madrid, they can't play a Challenger in the 2nd week because they are Top 10. They can't just come back to Argentina or the United States, so they have to pay for their teams for two weeks in Europe."
Ultimately, it doesn’t seem like a decision that will be reversed because longer events generate more revenue on average, and from a financial standpoint, events and the Tour like that.
The Madrid Open is scheduled to be played from April 26th to May 7th this year, followed by the Italian Open in Rome, which will take place from May 10th to 21st.
