Ruud finds financial and logistical flaws in having Rome and Madrid span two weeks

Casper Ruud has voiced his dissatisfaction with the conversion of the forthcoming ATP 1000 tournaments into two-week events.

The Norwegian tennis player was quite clear in his dislike for the format of the 2023 Madrid Open and the 2023 Italian Open, which mirrors the structure of the Sunshine Double comprising the Indian Wells and Miami Open. The elongated format, aimed at enhancing competitiveness and offering more chances to players, has elicited a mixed response overall. While some view it as a favourable move for the sport, others, such as Ruud, contend that it could pose extra challenges, particularly for high-ranked players.

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Ruud emphasized the potential logistical problems that could arise for players who experience early exits from the Madrid tournament. He explained if they lose early they would be ineligible to participate in a Challenger tournament during the second week due to their ranking:

"A player like Schwartzman and Fritz, if they lose early in Madrid, they can't play a Challenger in the 2nd week because they are Top 10. They can't just comeback to Argentina or the United States so they have to pay for their teams for 2 weeks in Europe."

It's a change that will come to most Masters events in the future however Monte-Carlo is keeping it's 56-player format.

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