Stefanos Tsitsipas has voiced his displeasure with tennis’ new Masters 1000 schedule.
The 2024 season has certainly been a gruelling one, as several players have complained about the lack of time in between events, especially during and post-summer.
Now Stefanos Tsitsipas is the latest to speak out the schedule, and he has taken aim at the Masters 1000 events.
These tournaments changed from lasting just one week to two, and the World number 12 is not happy about it.
Stefanos Tsitsipas slams ATP Tour for new Masters 1000 schedule
The new Masters 1000 schedule has contributed to an even more congested tennis schedule in 2024.
With these events lasting an extra week, there is less time for players to rest in between tournaments, something Francis Tiafoe complained about at the Cincinnati Masters in August.
Tsitsipas, 26, is now the latest player to disagree with the extended Masters 1000 events on the ATP Tour, which he posted on X.
“The two-week Masters 1000s have turned into a drag. The quality has definitely dropped,” he wrote. “Players aren’t getting the recovery or training time they need, with constant matches and no space for the intense work off the court.
“It’s ironic that the @atptour committed to this format without knowing if it could actually improve the schedule, but the quality likewise. Paris got it right, done in a week. Exciting and easy to follow. Just how it’s supposed to be.
“If the goal was to ease the calendar, extending every 1000 to two weeks is a backwards move. Sometimes, it feels like they’re fixing what wasn’t broken.”
ATP and WTA players complain about the congested tennis schedule
Several plates have complained about what has been a very hectic 2024 tennis season.
The summer, which included the French Open, Wimbledon and the Olympic Games were very close together, and there was a turnaround of just two days between the end of the US Open and the Davis Cup group stages commencing.
At the Laver Cup, Carlos Alcaraz said the tennis schedule is ‘killing’ the players, while Iga Swiatek called for players to have more rest between events.
After the Cincinnati Masters final, Tiafoe did not hold back with his comments. “I think the 10-12 days or whatever it is is a disgrace. I think to have every single Masters like that except Monte Carlo, I don’t like it at all,” he told reporters.
“Prize money hasn’t risen, so I mean you’re having teams, a lot of wasted days. I don’t care if it’s in the states, in Cincinnati, five days off I will go to Kings Island or something and mess around but if I lose I will go to Florida or DC or back home.
“But when I’m in Europe playing Madrid or Rome and they are 10 or 12 days, it’s like what am I sitting here doing? Just wasting time.
“Unless the prize money rises, I think it’s a joke. It just helps the tournament. The tournament gets two weekends but from a player’s standpoint, it doesn’t help us at all. But that’s a whole other conversation, we love the ATP!”
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