Jannik Sinner shared his thoughts on the frequent schedule complaints made by some of his colleagues by pointing out that players can still choose what events they play.
Sinner has always been described as a pragmatic person who tries to do the work and not complain too much. He rarely complains about anything, which is not true for all tennis players.
They're not complainers by any means, but some of them do voice their opinions on things they don't like. Carlos Alcaraz has been quite open about the tennis season being too long.
He's raised that issue quite a few times this year, including recently at the Laver Cup, which has found some approval among his colleagues, like Alexander Zverev. In general, most tennis players would agree that the season is very long, possibly too long, but that's just the nature of the sport.
Sinner was asked about the schedule in Beijing ahead of the 2024 China Open, and he agreed that the season is quite long, but players have the means to counter that or get the most out of the situation.
Obviously, there are events they have to play, which Sinner recognized, but overall, the Italian, who was asked specifically about Carlos Alcaraz's comments, said that players still have options, and he has been open about skipping events in the past to focus on practice, for example.
"Yeah, the schedule is quite long obviously these years. But we players, we can still choose what to play and what not to play. Obviously we have some mandatory events, yes. As a player, you can still choose. I think of that. It is a very busy schedule this year; there are a lot of tournaments."
Sinner has a fair point because, ultimately, players do have a choice over their calendars. Players who choose a precise calendar, like Novak Djokovic, are proof of that.
Those who want to play a shorter calendar can do so if they wish, but players like to use the opportunity to play while they can, while they're young.
"You don't have to play a tournament. If you want, you can play. If not, you don't play. For example last year and also this year, I didn't play some tournaments because I wanted to practice. There are some choices behind this. In general, yeah, the season is quite long, so sometimes it's not easy."
Sinner's claims might resonate with Alcaraz, especially since the Spaniard has signed up for a couple of exhibitions when he didn't have to. He didn’t have to play this year's Laver Cup, but he did.
He didn’t have to play in the exhibition tournament in Saudi Arabia, which is coming up later this year, but he signed up for that tournament as well, so he didn’t help himself with that.