The annual ATP calendar runs from January to November each year, and former World No.1 Andy Roddick has lashed out at the ATP over the governing body's management of tournaments during the season.
Over the last week, the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) filed a lawsuit against the ATP, demanding better treatment of it's athletes. Co-founded by Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic, the PTPA's lawsuit has received support from fans and players including the likes of Aussie star Nick Kyrgios.
Roddick would like to see season shortened
On the latest episode of his Served with Andy Roddick Podcast, the retired American gave his opinion on the current state of the ATP and how the long schedule affects tennis athletes.
"ATP, you have got to fix the schedule," began Roddick. "You have to. It can’t be 11 months. You have to buy back a lot of the 250s and work backwards from September after the US Open. Find a way to trim four weeks, that’s the ideal scenario. You have to.
“Hopefully Chris doesn’t need to but by the time the end of October comes, in a perfect world, the ATP Finals would already have been played. Chris should have the right if he’s 80 in the world, 120 in the world. If he’s 30 in the world maybe he doesn’t need these.
“But imagine a job where the people who work the most, you forced them into working more instead of rewarding the work they have put in with some rest. Whereas you have people on their way up or fighting for their ranking position, clear the runway for those people to go nuts in November. Clear it.
“Hopefully Chris doesn’t need to but by the time the end of October comes, in a perfect world, the ATP Finals would already have been played. Chris should have the right if he’s 80 in the world, 120 in the world. If he’s 30 in the world maybe he doesn’t need these.
“But imagine a job where the people who work the most, you forced them into working more instead of rewarding the work they have put in with some rest. Whereas you have people on their way up or fighting for their ranking position, clear the runway for those people to go nuts in November. Clear it.
“The ATP, I am going after you right now, because you have to maintain an ounce of credibility. You f—— up the schedule royally. All we hear is that we are going to have the best interest of shortening the season, shortening the season.
“You talk about it all the time but then what do you do? With not a lot of player input you are making every event two weeks, you are adding weeks to the calendar, you are going to put one in February – don’t be shocked when that one comes around.
“And we hear about buy backs and they don’t happen. There has to be a restructuring of the schedule. That’s the biggest way to claw back player support, especially from those who have been creating the most revenue and putting in the most work on court."
“You talk about it all the time but then what do you do? With not a lot of player input you are making every event two weeks, you are adding weeks to the calendar, you are going to put one in February – don’t be shocked when that one comes around.
“And we hear about buy backs and they don’t happen. There has to be a restructuring of the schedule. That’s the biggest way to claw back player support, especially from those who have been creating the most revenue and putting in the most work on court."
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.
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