“You mean ‘there is too much irrelevant exhibition tennis tournaments'" - Former world number one slams Henman after schedule comments

It feels like the talk of the tennis world the past few months has been based around the compacted schedule, with many stars calling out how many events there are. Sky Sports pundit and former British number one Tim Henman stated there was 'too much irrelevant tennis' but was shot down by two-time Grand Slam champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov.

Henman's comments came after an interview with the ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi, who has been under constant fire in recent times. Current and former players, pundits and fans have all been very vocal on the congested calendar tennis now uses. The men's tennis season has now come to a close after the Davis Cup Finals took place in Bologna. For many of the players, they will be back on the court in just over a month as preparations ramp up ahead of the beginning to the 2026 campaign, including the coveted Australian Open.

Henman stated his opinions during the ATP Finals in Turin. “For me there is too much irrelevant tennis at times in the calendar. When they talk about February, historically on the ATP Tour there have been 12 tournaments in four weeks in February and what does that mean when you have Jannik Sinner here, Carlos Alcaraz there, Alexander Zverev here and Novak Djokovic there?" Henman questioned. “It doesn’t provide a clear narrative for the fan so certain weeks where there is no tennis is a good thing for everybody. It gives the players an opportunity to rest and it gives fans the chance to build the excitement about the next event on the calendar."

Henman's opinion on the matter was not seen in the same point of view by Kafelnikov. The Russian went to X to share what he thought on the Brit's views. “You mean ‘there is too much irrelevant exhibition tennis tournaments with lot of money, which has negative affect on calendar’, Tim?” he wrote.

The former number one pointed out the number of exhibition tournaments on the calendar that are regularly competed by the best players in the world. One of which notably is the lucrative Six Kings Slam. The six participants each received a sum of $1,500,000 for just turning up. The champion, Jannik Sinner, took home a whopping $6 million. 

Another example is the Laver Cup. It is a popular event for tennis players who compete for their respected teams as they target glory. This year, Team Europe possessed the likes of Alcaraz, Zverev and Hoger Rune while Team World boasted Taylor Fritz, Alex de Minaur and Joao Fonseca, among others. This added onto the mandatory four Grand Slams and eight Masters 1000 events the top players must participate in adds up to a lot of tennis. This does not include the other ATP 500 and 250 competitions participated and, if they qualify, the ATP Finals.

Despite the competitors regularly showing up for these events, they have started to speak more on the current situation with more concern. It seems that their wishes are going unnoticed by the ATP, who some time ago announced the expansion to 10 Masters 1000 tournaments a year with the Saudi Masters taking effect from 2028.

Nevertheless, for now the players do not have to worry about this. The off-season is a chance for them to rest, relax and reset ahead of the who process happening again. The 2026 season kicks off Down Under with the United Cup the first notable event, being held in Australia from 2nd - 11th January. Following that is the big one: the Australian Open going from 18th January - 1st February.