Criticism of the calendar: Sinner says that the players are responsible for the schedules
MADRID, 24 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner, world number one, believes that players should take responsibility for their own careers, following criticism of the tennis calendar by Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz and Briton Jack Draper, and recalled that it is not “obligatory” to play all tournaments.
“The calendar is quite long, obviously. But as players we can choose what to play and what not to play. Obviously, we have some mandatory tests. As a player, you can still choose. This year we have a very tight calendar, there are many tournaments. It is not mandatory to play a tournament,” he said at the press conference ahead of the ATP 500 tournament in Beijing.
During the Laver Cup, Alcaraz, who gave Europe the victory, was very critical of the number of tournaments on the circuit. “They are going to kill us,” said the Murcian. Draper agreed with him, saying that the current tennis calendar was “madness” and “a real mental challenge.”
However, Sinner stressed that apart from the “mandatory” tournaments, which include the eight Masters 1000 and four ATP 500 a year, players can choose their own schedules. “If you want, you can play. If not, you don’t play. For example, last year and also this year, I didn’t play some tournaments because I wanted to practice. There are some options behind this,” he said.
The US Open champion has played 18 tournaments in 12 months, the same number as Serbian Novak Djokovic and one more than Alcaraz, but five fewer than world number two, German Alexander Zverev.
Draper, who has struggled with injuries in his early career, has also played 23 tournaments, while the busiest man in the top 100, Argentina’s Federico Coria, has played a total of 33.