French Open champion claims he would have hated playing tennis today as the ATP ‘remains silent’ on big issue

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The stars of the ATP Tour have struggled with the conditions at the 2025 Shanghai Masters.

Several big names have suffered early exits in China due to the hot weather at the penultimate Masters 1000 event of the year.

World number two Jannik Sinner retired due to cramps against Tallon Griekspoor in the third round.

He wasn’t the only player to fall at this stage, as both Taylor Fritz and Alexander Zverev exited the competition in round three, succumbing to the humidity in Shanghai.

Reacting to the latest developments at the Shanghai Masters, a former Grand Slam winner has weighed in with his thoughts.

Adriano Panatta slams ATP for staying silent over poor conditions in Cincinnati and Shanghai

Writing for Corriere Della Sera, 1976 French Open champion Adriano Panatta commented on the conditions in Shanghai and another ATP tournament earlier this year.

“Stressful conditions don’t seem to matter much to the organizers,” he said.

“The only tournament that has developed regulations regarding heat and humidity is the Australian [Open].

“Beyond certain limits, you can’t go; the alarm goes off, and everyone goes to the locker room.

“Cincinnati and Shanghai should have done it, too. There are so many ways: closing the roof, air conditioning, umbrellas on the changeover chairs, refrigeration, stopping matches…

“Nothing has been done, and the ATP remains silent.”

Proceeding to comment on the busy tennis calendar, which has been discussed at length recently, Panatta claimed he would have hated to play in today’s game.

“Nicola Pietrangeli, whom I truly love, always complains that he was born too early because with today’s tennis he could have made a lot of money,” he said.

“He already knows what I think, but I’ll answer him once again, indirectly… I’m happy to have been born “too early,” because in tennis like this, I wouldn’t have had any fun at all.”

Panatta was sympathetic with the players who struggled in Shanghai, including Sinner, his fellow Italian.

Looking ahead to the remainder of Sinner’s 2025 campaign, Panatta advised the world number two to forget about one key goal.

Adriano Panatta doesn’t see why Jannik Sinner should bother chasing Carlos Alcaraz for world number one

The 75-year-old reflected on Sinner’s busy year, which saw him win two Grand Slam titles and serve a three-month suspension.

“The strongest players today are fortunate enough to be able to schedule their season solely around the Grand Slams and Masters 1000 tournaments. It’s true that [Jannik] Sinner had a shortened season due to his stupid doping ban, but the underlying argument remains the same,” said Panatta.

“Especially since the Masters [1000s] have become all, or almost all, two-week events, requiring increasingly longer work periods.”

Panatta reckons Sinner should give up on one key target between now and the end of the year.

“The number one. Oh well… If there aren’t any special contracts with sponsors, I don’t see why we should chase him [Carlos Alcaraz],” he said.

“First and second have the same advantages. If they need to reach the top of the podium, they can do so naturally; there’s no point in playing extra tournaments.”

Alcaraz and Sinner are currently ranked number one and two in the world and are separated by less than 1,000 points.

However, following Sinner’s early exit in Shanghai, the likelihood of the Italian finishing the year ranked number one in the world seems slim.

With that in mind, perhaps it would make sense for Sinner to slow things down before he brings his 2025 campaign to a close.

In 2024, Sinner withdrew from the Paris Masters event before he won the ATP Finals and Davis Cup Finals in the final few weeks of the year.

Only time will tell if he chooses to do the same in 2025, but it will certainly be something to look out for.

The 2025 Paris Masters is scheduled to begin on Saturday, October 25.