Felix Auger-Aliassime has long been expected to challenge for tennis’ elite honours, but only now are people starting to believe he might actually be capable of doing so consistently.
After all, breaking through onto the ATP Tour as a promising teenager, it is often difficult to translate that promise into tangible success.
The Canadian has had to suffer to be where he is today, but finishing 2025 ranked fifth in the world provided a sign that he is doing the right things.
However, despite his flourish to finish the season, he still found himself in hot water after making some rather controversial comments about the tennis schedule.
Not everyone disagreed with him, though.
Felix Auger-Aliassime praised for his comments about the schedule
In fact, Brad Stine, who has coached Tommy Paul since 2020, has actually admitted that he loved what he heard from Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The 25-year-old effectively went against what many of his peers had argued, instead suggesting that they should enjoy the privilege of being paid to play the sport they love.
Speaking on The Slice podcast, Stine claimed: “I loved it. All respect to Felix for commenting and commenting in a way that I think was absolutely on target and correct.
Where do you think Felix Auger-Aliassime will finish the year ranked next year?
“This is your job. Just like with any job, you always have choices. You want to quit your job, you can quit your job. You want to take a week off from your job, you can take a week off. You may get fired, but you can take a week off.”
The star-studded tennis coach, who has worked with the likes of Jim Courier and Kevin Anderson across his glittering career, then compared the life of a tennis player to that of an everyday person.
Stine continued: “We have the luxury within what the players do of having the ability to take a week off, take two weeks off.
“Are there ramifications to that? Yes. It’s a job. Of course, there are ramifications to that. If you don’t show up to your job today, there is going to be some ramifications from that.
“You are probably going to have some loss of income and other stuff. So that is the situation that the players are really in.
“Nobody is holding a gun to their head and saying that they absolutely have to play.
“You can take any week off that you want to take off. Are there ramifications? Of course. And there should be.”
What exactly did Felix Auger-Aliassime tell his fellow players to do about the schedule?
Chatting with the press during his run to the semi-finals of the ATP Finals, Auger-Aliassime took this opportunity to debunk what many of his fellow players have argued.
After all, Carlos Alcaraz has complained about the schedule often, with Andy Roddick also slamming the tennis calendar recently as well.
Do you agree with Emma Raducanu’s thoughts on the WTA schedule?
This is not a new issue, yet Auger-Aliassime seemingly thinks it’s one not worth talking about.
He claimed: “I don’t know how guys don’t enjoy it, to be honest. I think they lost perspective completely. I get that you can get tired. I’m tired, too. I do trips around and I go see different circumstances around the world. I mean, we’re just lucky and blessed.
“I don’t know. If you want to play less tournaments, stay home. Nobody’s forcing you to be here.”
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