Carlos Alcaraz has become the latest player to weigh into the growing row over the tennis schedule. The four-time Grand Slam champion put tennis bosses on alert over the packed calendar, saying: “They are going to kill us in some way.”
It comes after Jack Draper and Iga Swiatekcriticised the “exhausting” professional circuit.
The demands of the tennis season have been a talking point this year. More Masters 1000 tournaments have extended to a two-week format while an increasing number of events are becoming mandatory for players.
Alcaraz has now suggested that the calendar is getting “too much” as he warned of the consequences, claiming he and his rivals would get injured and have to skip tournaments.
After getting his first victory at the Laver Cup, the 21-year-old admitted it sometimes ruined his motivation. “As I said many times, you know, the calendar is so tight, a lot of tournaments, no days off or not as much days off as I want,” he explained.
Asked to elaborate, the world No. 3 recognised that some of his colleagues were happy with the number of tournaments in the schedule and potentially even wanted to see more. But he said he was firmly in the other camp.
He continued: “I’m the kind of player who think there is a lot of tournaments during the year, mandatory tournaments, and probably during the next few years gonna be even more tournaments, more mandatory tournaments.
