As the tennis season draws to a close, the lengthening of the Masters 1000 tournaments is the talk of the town. These tournaments – the most important on the circuit after those of the Grand Slam -have been reduced from one week to two, “have become a chore”, said Thursday Stefanos Tsitsipas12th player in the world. “Players are not getting the recovery time or training they need, and the quality of the game has dropped,” he added.
As long ago as October, French No. 1 Ugo Humbert, who has since reached a final at this level for the first time at the Paris Rolex Mastershad accused ATP to “never” go the way of the players. “The biggest piece of bullshit was putting the Masters 1000 on a two-week schedule,” he asserted in an interview. interview with Tennis Majors. “They tell us we make more money, but it’s not true, we have twice as many expenses” due to the longer stay on site. And “a lot more guys get injured”, lamented the left-handed player from Metz.
Monte-Carlo and Paris, the last survivors
Held in March, the first two Masters 1000 events of the season (Indian Wells and Miami) have long been spread over two weeks. But what used to be an exception is becoming the norm, with the Rome, Madrid and Shanghai Masters 1000s extended to 12 days of competition since 2023, and the Cincinnati and Canada Masters 1000s scheduled for 2025. Soon, only Monte-Carlo and Bercy will be held over a single week.
In a review of these changes presented at the beginning of October, the ATP stated that the lengthening of these tournaments enabled more players to enter the tables (96 instead of 56), increased their remuneration and improved the spectator experience. “Bigger tables bring more money to more players, in line with the ATP’s objective of increasing the number of players who can make a decent living from tennis,” the body argued.
Tsitsipas caught by the patrol
In any case, Stefanos Tsitsipas’ stance provided a good laugh. Stan Wawrinka. In response to the Greek’s tweet, the 2015 French Open winner released a promotional video from 2022, in which he exchanged views with ATP President Andrea Gaudenzi on the benefits of this reform.
Some players, such as France’s Lucas Pouille, welcomed this little dig. We haven’t finished about calendars in the world of sport.