"Somebody should be fired for this" - Querrey lambasts venue for Alcaraz-Fonseca showdown as world number one's schedule questioned

As we hit December, exhibitions are the main focus in the tennis world. Many players will be starting their preparations for the 2026 campaign by competing in some of these events. Steve Johnson, Sam Querrey, John Isner and Jack Sock discussed these upcoming tournaments on the Nothing Major Show.

The first main event coming up is the UTS Grand Final in London. While it will host a lot of top players, it will be without Jack Draper after he was recommended to spend some more time on the sidelines as his bone bruising continues to heal in his humerus. This injury kept him out of a lot of the second half of the season. While he competed at the Grand Slam events, he missed a large part of the North American hardcourt swing and the whole of the Asian swing onwards. It will not be until 2026 when we finally see the British number one step back onto the court.

The unique thing about UTS compared to other tournaments is the format it boasts. Matches are done a lot quicker with strict timing rules and a different scoring format. It is changed for a contrasting spectacle to what fans are normally used to when watching tennis on the ATP or WTA Circuit. The players get to relax a bit more and put on a show to the expectant crowd. This is the type of exhibition Johnson advocates for. He went a step further and pestered for Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner to compete in one of these events.

"Yeah, look—I just want to see Carlos. I want to see him in an unserious format," Johnson stated. "These guys aren’t playing for the money. This isn’t an exhibition—it's another tournament, no ranking points but lots of money. But an exhibition? I like seeing Carlos or Sinner in an unserious format. We all know how good they are when the slams are on the line. It’s fun to watch them in practice—they try new things, show personality. In exhibitions they can entertain and experiment. That’s where I differ.

Instantly, he expected Querrey to disagree with him, and inevitably he did. "No—here’s my rebuttal. I disagree as well. I like seeing guys locked in, playing for a big fee. I like the Six Kings Slam—the gold standard of exhibitions," he admitted.

The Six Kings Slam brought six of the best players in the world to compete for a ridiculous sum of cash. Just turning up on the day got you $1.5 million, with the eventual champion Sinner leaving Riyadh with $6 million. The Laver Cup is another prime example of a serious exhibition. Players from Europe compete against the best players from the rest of the world for bragging rights.

"Somebody should be fired for this," Querrey began, talking about the Miami Invitational on December, 8. It will play host to a highly anticipated exhibition which will feature Carlos Alcaraz and Joao Fonseca stepping onto the court for the first time together, possibly a future vision of the top of tennis. While the matchup looks exhilarating, the location has not been met with open arms.

"Guys, we’re overreacting. The event hasn’t even happened. I might go and end up liking it," Isner said, counter-arguing. He went on to explain the location. "For people listening, the court is on the baseball field, kind of over home plate. They have stands around it and then parts of the baseball stadium. It’s not perfect—fans look far away."

Johnson, who was not a fan, continued to lambast it. "The renderings don’t look good. Use just one side of the stadium. You can’t even get people close to the court. It doesn’t look great," Johnson critically said. "In an exhibition, you want it intimate and close. You don’t need Grand Slam distance from the baseline. I want fans right on top of the action. It’s a miss. That being said, I wish I were watching live—it’ll be amazing with those two guys."

Just before this, Alcaraz will be competing against Frances Tiafoe in New Jersey for A Racket At The Rock, another exhibition event just one day before travelling down to Miami. Johnson was very perplexed about this decision based off recent caution in the Davis Cup Finals.

"I think that’s insane. There’s a huge difference between a competitive match and an exhibition, especially physically. Carlos doesn’t need to push in an exhibition—you can guard yourself. The fact he even went to Davis Cup and tried to play was a massive win. In exhibitions, he can entertain without risking injury. People act like he’s disrespecting Davis Cup, but he’s growing the game. These exhibitions give fans a chance to see him who otherwise couldn’t," he concluded.