Tennis, while appearing glamorous from the outside, can be a demanding profession. With all the traveling and mandatory events happening, it can have a huge toll on the players. The same recently happened with Carlos Alcaraz. After defeating Ben Shelton in straight sets at the Laver Cup, Alcaraz revealed his frustration with the scheduling: “Probably they are going to kill us in some way.” Soon after his comments went viral, his on-court rival, Jannik Sinner shared his thoughts on the whole debate. But the Spaniard didn’t seem to approve it.
Currently playing at the China Open, the Spaniard, during a press conference was asked, “Just bearing in mind the comments you made last week about the tour or the schedule ‘killing us’, as you said, quite strong comments, how do you feel this week with your energy levels? After your comments, were there any messages of support or feedback from other players about what you said?” Responding to this, he suggested that his energy levels are high, he has the motivation to play good tennis and wants to win every tournament that he goes to. Later, he offered his insights about the scheduling saga using Jannik Sinner as an example.
“I’ve hear a lot of players complain about the schedule, about the calendar as well. Didn’t see after my words, after this I didn’t hear, I didn’t seen people or players talk about that. I’ve seen it before, before my words.” Further, he added, “I hear about in Jannik’s[Sinner] press conference here, he talks about it a little bit. He didn’t complain as much as he did, he didn’t complain big about the calendar.” For context, Sinner disagreed with Jack Draper and Carlos Alcaraz over scheduling complaints:
Before Alcaraz, British No. 1 tennis star Jack Draper warned that the hectic schedule in modern tennis could make it difficult for younger players to have long and successful careers. “There’s no doubt it’s a quick turnaround, I think a lot of people in my position would have not come this week,” said Draper, who has played 49 singles matches this year.
The 2024 US Open champion has played an intense schedule, competing in 18 tournaments over the past 12 months. While this is similar to Novak Djokovic and slightly more than Alcaraz, it’s five fewer than Alexander Zverev. Draper, who has faced injury issues, has still managed to play 23 tournaments, but Federico Coria holds the record for the most tournaments played by a top 100 player with an astonishing 33.
Talking about Carlos Alcaraz, a tennis bigwig made an honest Rafael Nadal comparison while offering his only advice to the Spaniard.
Carlos Alcaraz gets compared with Rafael Nadal as tennis bigwig offers his advice to him
In the podcast, Served with Andy Roddick, tennis bigwig Jon Wertheim talked about the situations that Carlos Alcaraz is dealing with currently. He suggested that Alcaraz, during this time of the year, becomes what Rafael Nadal was during this age (tired).
He further added that the Spaniard is an eight-month-a-year player. “Carlos Alcaraz, young kid needs to pace himself. And this is a little bit reminiscent of Rafa at this age, where just the wheels come off by late August.” Wertheim suggested that the scheduling strain contributed significantly to Alcaraz’s “terrible defeat” from the US Open.
“And I don’t you remember his remarks in the press conference at conference afterwards where he basically said, you know, I’ve disappointed myself with how weak I’ve been mentally. And you sort of said, Oh, this guy should go to a beach,” suggested Jon Wertheim in the interview.
With a few more tournaments lined up and the year-end ATP Finals, the journey is still not over for the 21-year-old Spaniard. Do you agree with the statements made by Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner? Is the tennis season really becoming more and more exhausting for the players? Do let us know in the comments below!
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