ATP Chief Defends Scheduling As Bublik Joins the List Of Players Complaining

ATP Chief Andrea Gaudenzi has jumped to defend tournament scheduling, saying that tennis players are independent workers and are free to decide exactly which tournaments they enter. He went on to say that the new format of the Masters 1000 means that reaching the final only means playing one more match despite the extension of the event. He did concede, however, that player rankings effectively force them to play, but that it was only necessary to play in the major tournaments.

The next major tennis event is the Australian Open, starting in January with the tennis season effectively lasting a full 12 months of the year. While the grueling schedule is a challenge for players, it is popular with fans and bettors. A wide variety of markets are available on the best crypto betting sites for hard, clay, and grass tournaments but the majority of wagers are placed during the big four tournaments. From what Gaudenzi’s saying, the conclusion might be that players should also focus more on the major tournaments, plus the ones in which they already won some points before. 

The four Grand Slams are played in January and across the summer months, but there are more than 60 ATP tournaments in 30 countries, and these take place throughout the year. While the biggest names primarily concentrate on ranking events, they also use some of the smaller tournaments to gain fitness, improve their game, or make a comeback after injury.

Recently, the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek, and Stefanos Tsitsipas have all complained about the grueling schedule, saying it not only means playing tournaments throughout the whole year but that it takes a physical toll on players.

ATP points, which are used to determine world ranking as well as seeding and qualification for events, are calculated by taking points collected from 19 qualifying events during a 12-month period. If a player goes deep in those 19 tournaments they can still face an exhausting schedule, even if they don’t play in any other events.

Most recently, world number 33 Alexander Bublik has pointed to the number of ATP 250 events that are scheduled. These events carry 250 points for the winner, compared to the 1,000 points at the Masters 1,000 events and 2,000 for the winners of the Grand Slam events. Bublik said that players are likely losing money by competing in the events and said they aren’t interesting.

One former player who disagrees with all the complaining is former Women’s World Number 1 Billie Jean King. She said players shouldn’t complain about a hectic schedule if they are happy to play exhibition events and take the big money for these games.

While the criticism might be reasonable when pointed at the biggest earning stars, many players are forced to compete in the lower ATP 250 events, which typically have very low prize money. And, as Bublik points out, it can cost tens of thousands of dollars in travel, accommodation, and paying a player’s team to travel to the events with them. They continue to play these events to pick up much-needed points, despite losing money if they don’t win the events.