The ATP Tour came under heavy scrutiny last year following a large number of players calling an early end to the season due to either injury or burnout.
Packed scheduling has been a big issue in tennis for years, but towards the end of 2025, the scale of the problem was really highlighted.
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Debate was sparked on social media when Holger Rune suffered an Achilles injury at the Stockholm Open, with Britain’s Jack Draper leading the calls for change to the calendar.
Despite the desire by many players for a shorter season, the ATP has continued to extend some of its biggest tournaments on the tour by changing some Masters 1000s from one-week events to 12-day competitions.
Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas recently discussed the extended format of the Masters 1000s and described the workload as ‘inhumane’.
Stefanos Tsitsipas voices frustration with 12-day Masters 1000s
Speaking in an episode of ‘What’s The Call?‘, Tsitsipas said: “The most frustrating part about this is, okay, you’re making us work more, which is fine. Make us work more, but at least increase prize money.
“I got promised back in the day when I had an interview with the chairman of the ATP. He shared with me the ‘one vision’ thing, and it all seemed alright when he was presenting it and sharing it with me.
“But there hasn’t been a significant change with prize money and compensation for players for getting to play more.
“I understand the reason they’re doing it is for streaming, selling more tickets, and obviously, there are so many reasons why this is happening.
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“But it also creates much more fatigue and injury for players, and I don’t think it’s accidental that 2025 was the year with the most retirements on the ATP Tour.
“Fatigue is a big thing. Because you have got to be fresh to perform. It’s actually inhumane to be able to go back-to-back, Indian Wells, Miami. Monte Carlo starts to normalise it again because it’s a one-week Masters 1000 where everyone is happy, everyone gets to focus for a week, which is more than enough, trust me.
“I’m not saying those Masters 1000s should go down to seven days, but at least they’ve got to find a sweet balance where we can still go over the normal amount but go within reason. Because the way they did it, they really extended it way too far ahead.”
The plans for Masters 1000 events in 2027
The official 2027 ATP Tour calendar was unveiled in January, with 59 tournaments across 28 countries.
There will be 16 ATP 500 events, 29 ATP 250 events and nine ATP Masters 1000 events in 2027, with seven of the latter featuring the 12-day format.
As per the ATP Tour website, ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi said of the 2027 changes: “The ATP Tour delivers world-class competition in some of the most iconic destinations across the world, and 2027 is set to keep raising the bar.
“The record 5.55 million fans attending our events speaks volumes about the strength and global appeal of tennis today. Our focus is on unlocking greater value by elevating our top-tier events and delivering the very best of our sport to the fans.”
A new Masters 1000 event in Saudi Arabia is set to be added to the calendar in 2028.
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