Dominic Thiem is the latest player to voice his concerns about the tennis schedule.
The Austrian has played sparingly over the past two seasons due to a serious wrist injury, and he has now retired from the sport.
Thiem called time on his excellent career after losing to Luciano Darderi at the Vienna Open in front of his home fans on October 22.
Thiem has bowed out of tennis after winning 17 titles to his name and becoming the last Grand Slam champion to play with a one-handed backhand.
What did Dominic Thiem say about the tennis schedule?
The tennis schedule has always been a gruelling one but 2024 has been especially demanding for players.
There was a very short turnaround between the summer tournaments such as the French Open, Wimbledon, the Olympic Games and the North American hard court swing, which concluded with the US Open.
Furthermore, the Davis Cup group stages began just two days after the US Open ended, while the Laver Cup commenced less than a week later.
Players have complained about the lack of rest between these tournaments, in addition to some of the Masters and WTA 100 events changing from a one week event to two weeks.
In an interview with the Guardian, Thiem expressed how the congested schedule is a significant factor in the injuries the players sustain.
“I think the way we do the sport, it’s not healthy, and at one point, one part or more parts of the body break down,” the former World number three said. “You can see it with almost every player, there is no player who comes injury free through their career. That’s just the way of professional sport.
“And in my case, it was the wrist. It’s not really surprising, because I was obviously using the wrist so much, especially at the forehand, and it was one of my most important parts the last moments before hitting the ball to accelerate a bit more with the wrist.
“I was doing this probably millions of times, and at one point, that’s also what the doctor said. The wrist got just a little bit too weak and then it broke. After that I never had the same feeling.”
Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek criticise tennis schedule
Ahead of making his Laver Cup debut, Carlos Alcaraz said the tennis schedule is ‘killing’ the players after the quick turnaround between the US Open and Davis Cup, before heading to Germany to represent Team Europe in the Laver Cup.
Back in August, Iga Swiatek called for players to have more rest. “What can I say? I’ve been kind of an advocate in saying that we shouldn’t, I don’t know… be pushing and pushing for us to play more,” she said.
“Obviously it is not our decision. But for sure I think we have too many tournaments in the season. It’s not going to end well. It makes tennis less fun for us. Obviously, I love playing in all these places, but it’s pretty exhausting. Most of the players will tell you that.
“I don’t think it should be like that because we deserve to rest a little bit more. Maybe people are going to hate me for saying that. I’m asking for rest.” Furthermore, Vienna Open winner Jack Draper claimed he’d had no time off for months as the relentless schedule took its toll on the players physically and mentally.
“It’s a mental calendar,” Draper said back in September. “It’s my opinion that it’s going to be very hard for players of my age to achieve longevity any more.
“If you look at how many tournaments I’ve played this year, it’s hopefully 25, 26 for the first time. That’s a big positive in itself – this is my first proper year on tour.
“It’s definitely tough, but my team want the best for me, they want me to stay injury-free, to look after my body and mind.”
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