Alexander Zverev believes the decision to extend the length of Masters 1000 tournaments is hurting the world’s best players and has called for the Tour calendar to be reduced.
The German world No.5 told reporters at the Italian Open that players in the top 10 are worse off because they have less time to recover between tournaments. This week’s Masters event in Rome is taking place over 12 days and follows straight after the Madrid Masters, which was also held over the same amount of days. Supporters of the extension argue that the extended draw provides an opportunity for more lower-ranked players to participate in these events which rewards up to 1000 ranking points to the champions.
However, Zverev has his reservations about the format which will be applied to seven out of the nine Masters 1000 tournaments from 2025. The only two yet to make or plan for such changes are Monte Carlo and Paris.
“The two-week Masters 1000 events are great for players ranked between 50 and 100 in the world because they get a chance to play a main draw event,” Zverev said during his pre-tournament press conference in Rome.
“It’s not great for top 10 players. It’s as simple as that.
“Yes, you do get told you have a day in between, you don’t have to play every day. At the end of the day that’s not resting. Resting is when you’re spending time at home, sleeping in your own bed, maybe with your family, your dogs, your kids, right?
“A day between matches, if you’re at a different place, that’s not resting. If you’re going deep in events … if you’re trying to make the semi-finals or finals of every event, you’re just away a lot longer and you have to work a lot more.”
Zverev, who reached the final of the 2020 US Open, also believes cutting the length of the Tour calendar could help reduce the risk of players getting injured. In recent weeks some of the sports top names have experienced physical problems. Carlos Alcaraz is nursing a forearm injury and has been forced to withdraw from three clay court events within the past two months due to the issue. Meanwhile, Jannik Sinner is currently dealing with a hip injury and said on Sunday that he would not play at this month’s French Open unless he is fully fit to do so.
“If we have an 11-month season, like we have now … it’s just simply not enough time. It’s not enough time to rest your body. It’s also not enough time to physically prepare your body,” Zverev commented.
“Physical preparation isn’t how much you practice on court, how much you play. It’s how much work you put in the gym, on the track, outside the court, that you can’t do during the season.”
Whilst players have roughly a month free during the off-season, many opt to play in exhibition events which can offer generous amounts of prize money for those taking part. Furthermore, this year’s Next Gen ATP Finals in Saudi Arabia is taking place in the middle of December for the first time.
At the Italian Open, former champion Zverev is the third seed this year. His opening match will be against either Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic or Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman.
