Many players, including Carlos Alcaraz, have criticized the length of the tennis calendar. The ATP chairman, Andrea Guadenzi, responded to those concerns.
After a long and grueling season, the off-season will begin for all ATP players once the Davis Cup Finals are completed. The team event started on Tuesday, with Rafael Nadal losing against Botic van de Zandschulp in one of the matches.
WTA players will have slightly more time to rest than the men competing at the Davis Cup. The Billie Jean King Cup final between Italy, who defeated Iga Swiatek's Poland in the semifinal, and Slovakia on Wednesday is the final day of action in 2024 on the WTA Tour.
Many ATP and WTA stars believe the tennis season should have already finished. Alexander Zverev spoke bluntly about the ATP not caring about the players, believing the governing body is only interested in profiting from their efforts.
Swiatek has been the most vocal WTA star about the schedule. The four-time French Open champion thinks long-term damage to players is inevitable unless something is done to shorten the calendar.
Alcaraz can be added to the list of those who disapprove of the length of the tennis season. The 21-year-old admitted he did not want to travel to some tournaments in 2024 and said the organizers are trying to kill the players.
However, Alcaraz received criticism for playing at the Laver Cup and Six Kings Slam and agreeing to face Ben Shelton in an exhibition match at Madison Square Garden in December despite complaining about the calendar.
Tennis and equality icon Billie Jean King accused players who oppose the length of the schedule but also play matches in December of being hypocrites and finds it hard to take them seriously.
During an interview with SportFace, Gaudenzi was more open to Alcaraz's concerns, promising that the ATP is working on addressing players' concerns, but explained why adapting the schedule is not as easy as some realize.
"This is a problem and I agree, we are working on it. However, the tournaments are owned and since we don't have a centralized system we can't take events and move them as we like. Then it is true that there is an obligation to play the Masters 1000, our premium product."
"Because fans want to see the best play in the biggest tournaments: Slams, Masters 1000 and Finals. This is the product that is popular and needs to be strengthened, also because the gap between Slams and 1000s is significant,"
Gaudenzi defended the controversial move to make more of the Masters 1000 tournaments two weeks long, which many players dislike. However, the ATP chairman reiterated again that he agrees players do not have enough time to recover.
"We have expanded the Masters 1000 and in the 96-draw Masters there is theoretically one more match only if you reach the finaI. I agree with the players when they say that the off-season is too short and the Davis Cup also has an impact on this."
"With the new format many players play in November, once only those from the teams that reached the final, the others went on vacation. Now you don't have enough time to rest, rebuild your body and start playing tennis again."
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