Stefanos Tsitsipas is one of several players to criticize combined ATP and WTA Masters 1000 tournaments being nearly two weeks long, but Stan Wawrinka proved the Greek was not always opposed to the idea.
The concept of Masters 1000 tournaments lasting more than one week is not new. Both March tournaments, the Indian Wells Open and Miami Open, have had that format for many years.
That was extended to this year's Madrid Open and Italian Open, which were 13 and 12 days long, respectively. Many fans and players criticized the move.
Some feel the tournaments drag on too long, and it would be more worthwhile and entertaining to have the Madrid Open and the Italian Open be one week each and then have a few tournaments the following week for players to enter.
Many players, such as Iga Swiatek, also feel the increased length of Masters 1000 tournaments makes the season too long and prevents players from being able to rest and recover properly.
That complaint seems particularly valid because the ATP and WTA have not reduced the number of mandatory tournaments for players despite them being on the road for more weeks due to the increased length of some of the Masters tournaments.
Swiatek felt the consequences of not playing at least six WTA 500 tournaments this season, which is mandatory for top women's players. On two occasions, the points from her lowest-earning events were removed.
As a result of that controversial rule, Swiatek lost the No. 1 ranking to Aryna Sabalenka a week earlier than she otherwise would have. That did not impact Sabalenka sealing the year-end No. 1 spot at the ongoing WTA Finals, but having the points removed still seemed unfair on Swiatek.
However, the ATP and WTA are going in the opposite direction to what Swiatek and other players would like by increasing the length of the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Open from 2025.
Tsitsipas became the latest player to hit out at two-week Masters 1000 tournaments. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he said the format reduces the quality of tennis produced and that the ATP attempted to fix what was not broken.
Wawrinka, who recently announced he has no intention of retiring, delivered a brutal response without saying anything himself. The three-time Grand Slam champion simply replied with a link to a video of Tsitsipas talking to the ATP Chairman, Andrea Gaudenzi, from June 2022.
That video can be viewed below. In it, Gaudenzi discusses the plan to increase the length of Masters 1000 tournaments, and Tsitsipas responds by supporting the idea.
"It's a better structured way of having tournaments be held together. It allows for more fans to be attending to watch their favorite player, whether that's a female or a male. They can get the whole package in one place."
While there is nothing wrong with Tsitsipas changing his opinion, he did not give that context in his recent criticism of the increased length of Masters 1000 tournaments.
Wawrinka undoubtedly exposed his hypocrisy, and it will be very interesting to see if Tsitsipas responds to the Swiss's cutting reply.
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