Yet more questions are being posed to the ATP Tour, with Taylor Fritz and Jannik Sinner now likely to be on the same page.
The first leg of the Asian swing has thrown up some brilliant matches but also highlighted some causes for concern among the players.
Fritz was praised by Carlos Alcaraz after losing to him at the Japan Open, but it wasn’t exactly Fritz operating at full pelt after a gruelling tournament.
As for Sinner, he came through his semifinal with Alex de Minaur but not without some concerns.
Sinner seemed to hurt his leg during the win over the Australian player, but did manage to prevail.
However, the two players have now directly offered a conundrum to the ATP Tour without actually realising it.
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Fritz and Sinner highlight problems with ATP Tour
Although Sinner managed to get the job done in his China Open final against Learner Tien, the fact that he needed the trainer on during his semifinal suggests fatigue is still rife.
Fritz was clearly struggling against Alcaraz in the second set of the final, and it remains to be seen what he will play between now and the end of the year.
Clearly, there is too much tennis for the players to get involved with right now, and with a jam-packed schedule, things will get to a breaking point for most players.
Qinwen Zheng has disagreed with Iga Swiatek over the schedule, and given that she’s just come back from injury, it feels like a strange suggestion.
Although the Asian swing is popular among the players, it’s getting to the point where the elite players simply aren’t playing to their very best in front of the fans who deserve more.
Fritz must choose his schedule more wisely
It’s rare that Fritz calls a trainer onto the court, and perhaps his busy time of things on the court has finally caught up with him.
Although the American is finally getting to the latter stages of Grand Slam tournaments, he might have to try and tweak his schedule if he’s to get over the line and win one.
It’s admirable that Fritz wants to try and play in every tournament, but there will come a point when the niggles will creep into his body, and perhaps now he has to take stock of things for next year.
Both Sinner and Alcaraz aren’t afraid to take breaks and miss tournaments to restock their energy reserves, and perhaps now is the time for Fritz to take a leaf out of their book in order to compete with them at the biggest tournaments.
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