Alexander Zverev has become the latest player to voice his frustration over the lengthy tennis schedule with the German insisting “it’s all about money here; that’s all the ATP cares about”.
Cries for authorities to shorten the calendar have grown louder in recent months with the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Jack Draper, Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka all expressing their concerns in recent weeks.
Just on Saturday Alcaraz admitted after his Laver Cup win over Ben Shelton that he often lacks motivation to play in tournaments saying “sometimes you don’t want to go to tournaments, I’m not gonna lie”.
The four-time Grand Slam winner added: “I’m the kind of player who thinks there are a lot of tournaments during the year, mandatory tournaments and probably during the next few years gonna be even more tournaments, more mandatory tournaments. So, I mean, probably they are going to kill us in some way (smiling).”
And later in the day Zverev joined the debate when he pointed out that tennis players compete for nearly 11 months in the year.
“There is no other sport where there is so much play; this cannot continue. The players’ health is at risk; it’s inconceivable that we start a season on December 29 and finish in the second week of November,” he said.
Asked by a journalist whether the players were discussing possible action, including a boycott, he replied: “Why? It’s all about money here; that’s all the ATP cares about; players have no decision-making power.”
When the journalist suggested the players unite and take action, he said: “Fine, what would you do? Tell me. No, seriously. Often you journalists come here asking us impossible questions; now I want to know what you would do.
“If you want to fight for important things like being the world’s No 1 and winning Grand Slams, with this calendar, you have to play numerous weeks a year; that’s unsustainable.
“This week we can talk, and we all agree on many things, but we can’t change anything. It’s all about money. Tournaments have licenses, and we can’t do anything against that. It’s impossible to eliminate tournaments just like that; we would have to compensate all those events because they have their licenses. It’s not viable.”
He sarcastically added: “Okay, I’ll listen to you, and we’ll boycott. We stop competing, stage a boycott, and then what? Do you think that would change anything?
“We’d lose money, other players would take our place, and nothing would change in the schedule. I only trust the steps being taken by the PTPA to make ourselves heard, but this is an issue that has no short-term solution.”
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