It’s been an exceptional season for Carlos Alcaraz and last weekend he helped Team Europe win the Laver Cup.
For the first time in three years, Bjorn Borg got one over his old foe John McEnroe – largely down to the brilliance of Alcaraz.
The Spaniard has won the French Open and Wimbledon this year and for a 21-year-old, it’s scary just how many titles he could win during his career.
One of the big talking points in professional tennis right now is regarding just how much tennis the players are being asked to play.
Alcaraz has been critical of this in the past and that hasn’t sat well with some fans, with the player often jetting around the world to play in exhibition events.
The youngster is currently in Beijing to play in the China Open and he’s doubled down on his previous complaints about the packed nature of the schedule.
Naturally, that has led to plenty of tennis fans reacting…
What Carlos Alcaraz has said about the schedule
The latest claims from Alcaraz haven’t gone down well with tennis lovers and he’s now facing a bit of a backlash.
Alcaraz said: “I’ve seen a lot of people talk about my exhibitions this year and complain about the schedule, at the same time putting a lot of exhibition. But I want to say there is different things; we all have to separate the exhibitions and the calendar.
“Yeah, as I said, it’s about different feelings in every person. So I’m talking about myself, that the schedule has been so tight since the first week of January till the last week of November. We have to take about it ourselves and we have to do something about it.”
Tennis fans slam Alcaraz for comments on schedule
This has been met with some angst from tennis supporters who feel that Alcaraz is a little bit out of order, with many taking to social media.
Another fan was equally annoyed with the comments, posting: “Very unreasonable response to say the least. I think he should have mentioned the money factor to justify why the tour should be reduced and exhibitions should increase.
Another unimpressed fan claimed: “What’s Alcaraz’s point? ATP should cancel some tournaments so that the top players, actually the only ones who are engaged to play exhibitions, have more time to make more money playing exhibition matches. Honestly, I don’t get what he’s saying…”
Some of Alcaraz’s fans did support him but the defence of his comments came in posts few and far between.
One did say: “He’s right!”
Alcaraz and others have to be careful what they wish for
Top players in every sport seem to be moaning at the amount of time they have to spend playing their respective sports.
However, surely the more exposure these top players get the more chance they’ve got of being asked to do the big exhibition events?
Naturally, there are only four majors and the ATP are doing all they can to try and fill the calendar with other tournaments and take the sport to as many countries as possible.
Players have to accept that they are at the mercy of the fans and ultimately, players have the power to pick and choose which tournaments they play in anyway.
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