ATP CEO suggests there will be a change coming to tennis soon, ‘we need to work on this’

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The 2025 ATP season saw a number of changes made to tennis.

For the first time in its 148-year history, there were no line judges at the Wimbledon championships, with electronic line calling being introduced at the sport’s biggest tournament as well as several other events.

A brand new ‘coaching pod’ was tested at the Australian Open, which allowed players to have up to four members of their team be placed in a designated courtside box.

The Masters series continued to expand, with both the Cincinnati Open and the Canadian Open becoming 12-day events.

Now, the ATP Tour Chief Executive Officer, Eno Polo, has suggested there will be another big change coming to men’s tennis soon.

Eno Polo discusses the heavy schedule on the ATP Tour

In an interview with Sports Scene, Polo was asked about the criticism the ATP Tour had faced with regard to its calendar.

Many stars have called for the schedule to be reduced, including British number one Jack Draper, who said changes need to be made to protect player health following Holger Rune’s Achilles injury.

Polo said: “Yes, we are looking to reduce the length of the calendar for sure. On the other hand, we want to make sure that the fans around the world are able to watch tennis, and so we’re not taking out tournaments from regions of the world that are super important.

“The third point is that, at the end of the day, I think it’s also [about] working closely with the players. I mean, there is no obligation for the players to play every single tournament of the year.

“I mean, you know, they’re obviously going to play the four Slams. We want them to play the 1000s because that’s the pinnacle of the sport, but then the choice after that is also a question of self-discipline and managing your agenda.

“It’s a bit like an employee in a company, you know, it’s important they take a vacation from time to time just to reset. And there’s never a good time to take a vacation in a company. There’s always work to do, right?

“And so it’s the same in tennis. There’s never a good time to take some time off because your competitors are playing somewhere.

“But it’s a question of, if your body is saying take a couple of weeks off, then take a couple of weeks off, and that’s maybe working closely with coaches and agents as well.

“So there are different things we can do, but I think we need to work on this together. The players need to understand their scheduling, and we need to give them the best scheduling possible.”

Eno Polo says the new Saudi Masters event will benefit tennis

Amid the concerns around the schedule being too packed, a brand new Masters 1000 event in Saudi Arabia was announced, set to begin in 2028.

Polo said of the new tournament: “Look, I think it’s a great opportunity. One, because it brings tennis to a different part of the world. I think it’s important.

“Tennis is such a global sport. The Middle East has had a couple of 500 and 250 tournaments, but bringing a 1000 to that region, I think, is great for the game of tennis.

“That region is developing a lot, but not only that region. I think they’re very closely connected with all of North Africa and the GCC region as well.

“I think it will bring a lot more attention to tennis in the Arab world, which is great because there’s a huge population there, just like we talk about with China.

“There’s a huge population with kids that are growing up, starting to pick up a racket and who knows, these could be the future champions in the next 20, 30, 40 years.

“You look at other sports like football now, we’ve got, you know, great players from all over the world, so tennis needs to develop that.

“I think the Masters 1000 in Saudi will bring in investment in terms of infrastructure. I think they will push the level of innovation in terms of, you know, you can imagine a stadium full of technology in 2028. They will push the other Masters to follow suit.”

The Saudi Arabia Masters event is likely to fall within the Middle East swing in the calendar, around February.