On the heels of the Paris Masters, Andy and @jon_wertheim discuss mounting concerns for Andrey Rublev and potential protections that can be put in place by the ATP youtu.be/jzwQc2WZJE4?si…
ATP’s expanded Masters 1000 calendar draws criticism from Andy Roddick: “It’s the worst thing”
ATPWednesday, 06 November 2024 at 20:30
Andy Roddick criticized the ATP over the scheduling of the Masters 1000 events. The former World No. 1 is not at all pleased with the decision to extend the duration of these tournaments to two weeks."
According to the 2003 US Open champion, extending tournaments only works against players, who seem to have less and less rest time in an annual calendar that practically lasts 11 months. In recent months, criticisms have come from players such as Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Grigor Dimitrov.
"Maybe the calendar shouldn’t have been so busy"
Both the ATP and WTA have opted to increase the draws for some tournaments. In 2023, the Madrid Open and Rome Open expanded their main draws from 64 to 96 players, extending these tournaments to two weeks with rest days in between rounds in the early stages.
For several years, the Indian Wells and Miami Opens have lasted two weeks as part of the traditional Sunshine Double. In 2025, the Cincinnati Open, Canadian Open, and Shanghai Masters will join, bringing the total to seven out of nine Masters tournaments lasting two weeks. Only the Monte-Carlo and Paris Masters remain one-week events.
A player competing in all nine Masters 1000 events and the four Grand Slams in a season could be spending a total of 26 weeks in these competitions. This does not include ATP 500 tournaments (six required for top-10 players) or country-based competitions like the Davis Cup or potential ATP Finals.
The 2003 US Open champion was strongly critical of the ATP leadership's decision, commenting on his podcast Served with Roddick: "I can honestly say that the two weeks of the ATP Masters 1000 are so stupid. It’s the worst thing,” he said. “I hate it. There’s a feeling that more players have gotten injured because you can’t work in your off weeks to get stronger physically."
"If you play every other day you can’t go and do intense work. The players say that. Maybe the calendar shouldn’t have been so busy. Paris-Bercy was great: one week. It’s great. All you have to do is open up the calendar and what do we do? We do the Masters 1000 over two weeks. Oh, that will help the calendar!"
claps 0visitors 96
Just In
Popular News
Latest Comments
- Rybakina is back!!
mandoist21-12-2024 - She sems to have a turbulent relationship with The Truth. Not even smartenough to make an excuse like "I severely twisted my ankle yesterday" -- then be seen shopping in some city next day while "recuperating"!mandoist21-12-2024
- Why do you even publish this TwatCaster's PATHETIC stunt for attention? There's plenty of reasons why imbeciles like him are 'talking' and people like Iga Swiatek are 'walking the walk'. Tennisuptodate should be above this tripe.mandoist16-12-2024
- If and when Political Correctness and gullible hearts over-rule BIOLOGY, the Human world begins its already seeming decline.mandoist15-12-2024
- The new generation has arrived and these guys need to do it with the left overs.
AceOfBase13-12-2024 - Every young, inexperiend CEO has "better" ideas (and friends to hire).mandoist12-12-2024
- What a load of nonsense. Emotional stress definitely didn’t cause her wrist or ankle injuries.Lyca10-12-2024
- Taylor Fritz 🎾 – the surprising third for many. 🎄 A great Christmas tree quiz question! 🎅✨MrAndreeva10-12-2024
- Simona Halep taking the axe out 🪓😮💨MrAndreeva08-12-2024
- ITIA is literally a Secret Organization. Way past time for a neutral entity to oversee, if not guide, these Elitists within ITIA whom enjoy their ability to keep their "investigations" in a business as usual format behind closed doors!!mandoist08-12-2024
