Ironic Turn: Wawrinka exposes Tsitsipas’ past praise for expanded Masters 1000

Stan Wawrinka calls out Stefanos Tsitsipas after changing his stance on Masters 1000 tournaments. The 3-time Grand Slam champion responded on X to a post by the Greek player, who joined in the criticism of the Masters 1000 tournaments extending to two weeks.

Earlier, Andy Roddick spoke on his podcast, stating that extending the draws and duration of the Masters is “so stupid, so dumb, it’s the worst thing, I hate it, feels like more players are getting injured because they can’t use the off-weeks to build up physically,” he stated.

Roddick's comments were echoed by Tsitsipas on X: “The two-week Masters 1000s have turned into a drag. The quality has definitely dropped. Players aren’t getting the recovery or training time they need, with constant matches and no space for the intense work off the court,” he tweeted.

“It’s ironic that the @atptour committed to this format without knowing if it could actually improve the schedule or the quality. Paris got it right, done in a week – exciting and easy to follow. Just how it’s supposed to be,” added the 26-year-old player. “If the goal was to ease the calendar, extending every 1000 to two weeks is a backwards move. Sometimes, it feels like they’re fixing what wasn’t broken.”

However, former world No. 3 Stan Wawrinka highlighted Tsitsipas’ change of opinion by replying with a link to an old video from 2022. In the clip, ATP President Andrea Gaudenzi is seen discussing future plans for the Masters 1000 tournaments with Tsitsipas. “What changes shall we expect from the calendar?” asked Tsitsipas.

“The calendar is about strengthening the premium product, which is the main interest for fans, who want to see the top players in top events in the top cities around the world,” Gaudenzi responded. “So the idea is to grow them, similar to Indian Wells and Miami, to a 96-player draw, 12 days.

“Then you would have Madrid, Rome, two weeks, [followed by] two weeks. You have Shanghai, two weeks. You would have Canada and Cincy sharing three weeks. So we’re trying to expand, giving more days, more prize money, bigger stages.”

Tsitsipas then expressed his support for the idea, noting the benefits it would provide to lower-ranked players. “In a way, this means that the top 100 players are provided good financial support for their efforts annually,” Tsitsipas responded. “I love that idea. Finding solutions for a better future.”