There have been plenty of debates in the last couple of years surrounding the relentless nature of the ATP and WTA calendars. While fans enjoy a year-round feast of tennis, players are increasingly voicing their concerns over the physical and mental toll of a schedule that leaves little room for recovery. This list of players also includes superstars such as Iga Swiatek, Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz, and a few others.

If we take a deeper dive into this rising concern in the tennis world, the tennis calendar spans 11 months, beginning in early January and running deep into late November. That leaves players with barely four to six weeks off-season, much shorter than in other major sports. If we draw a comparison, the NBA offers nearly four months between seasons, while the NFL offseason is one of the longest among the big sporting events, lasting for almost seven months.

Coming back to tennis, why has this topic become so relevant all of a sudden, though? Well, at the 2025 US Open, we saw several prominent players withdrawing their names due to injuries and illness. For example, although Jannik Sinner played the singles event, he withdrew his name from the mixed doubles event to keep himself fully fit and fresh.

Other than Sinner, even Matteo Berrettini, Hubert Hurkacz, Ons Jabeur, Qinwen Zheng, Jack Draper, Grigor Dimitrov, and Paula Badosa were also in the list of withdrawals in this tournament. We also saw quite a few mid-match retirements in this year's tournament. Reason for such frequent withdrawals? Probably the grueling tennis schedule! What are the players saying on this constant issue, though?

Iga Swiatek has repeatedly raised her concern about grueling schedules

In November 2023, Iga Swiatek raised concerns about the schedule for the 2024 season (featuring four Grand Slam events and the Summer Olympics happening in the same year). Seeing the changes made by the WTA then, regarding the number of WTA 1000 events jumping to 10, she had then said, "There is room for improvement. As players, we are unhappy with the calendar for next year and how the number of mandatory tournaments and withdrawal restrictions has increased. " 

Then, a year later, she called on the "people who are in charge" to fix the crammed calendar. During the 2024 Cincinnati Open, she complained that the tennis authorities are "pushing and pushing for us to play more" and pleaded that "we deserve to rest a little bit more." Later, she even labeled the tennis schedule as really tough and crazy! Iga Swiatek also spoke about how the players don't get much time, even at the end of the year, as well, because the first tournament starts almost at the end of December.

Previously, there used to be only 15 mandatory tournaments on the WTA Tour, but as per the new rules implemented on and from 2019, that figure now sits at 21. There are more and longer tournaments now, putting the players' health at risk as they can end up competing for 32 weeks a year. The extension of the duration of most Masters 1000 and WT 1000 tournaments allows for a day of rest between matches, but at the same time, it prolongs the stay in a competition for those who progress far.

4 Grand Slams, 8 Masters 1000, 4 ATP 500 tournaments, and 1-2 ATP 250 events are what most men's players are now required to compete in, besides the ATP Finals if they qualify, possible Davis Cup call-ups, and other events like the Laver Cup. How is the situation in the WTA if we draw a comparison with the 2019 season?

In 2019, the WTA players had to play a total of almost 15 tournaments, i.e., 19 weeks if they reached all finals. But in 2025, it has gone up to 21 tournaments, making it 32 weeks if they reach the finals. Truly insane!

Talking about constant complaints, even in June this year, Iga Swiatek criticized the relentless tennis calendar, saying players shouldn't be forced to compete in more than 20 tournaments a year to maintain their rankings. "The scheduling is super intense. It's too intense," said Iga Swiatek. But, Swiatek isn't the only one...

Carlos Alcaraz has also been one of the biggest critics of the tennis schedule

During the 2024 Laver Cup, Alcaraz stated, "The calendar’s so tight. A lot of tournaments … not as many days off as I want." He also jokingly claimed, "Probably during the next few years, it’s going to be even more mandatory tournaments. Probably they’re gonna kill us in some way." Even in August this year, he pushed the ATP Tour for a big change in tennis.

In an interview with the Financial Times, he said, they're (players) trying to change the schedule a bit, seeing if they can remove more tournaments so that they can have more rest time, more vacation time. Even after winning the 2025 US Open, he called out the brutal ATP scheduling! According to German R. Abril, a Spanish journalist, just like Iga Swiatek, even Carlos Alcaraz pointed out the poor schedule as "bad things about tennis."

If we go by the numbers, Carlos Alcaraz played 77 matches in the 2023 season, and it was followed by 61 matches in 2024. But in 2025, he has already played 67 matches!

We've seen Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz's take on this, but what does America's Taylor Fritz have to say on this? 

Taylor Fritz opens up about the rising concern in the tennis world

After seeing plenty of big-name withdrawals from the 2025 Canadian Open, Taylor Fritz called for the tennis season to be shortened. He added, "It’s insane, we are just adding stuff to the calendar over and over again." Talking about the controversial 12-day Masters 1000 tournament, he claimed that he believes this mandate unfairly limits players' ability to manage their workload ahead of the majors.

Not just Swiatek, Alcaraz, and Fritz, though, Aussie stars Alex de Minaur and Daria Kasatkina also opened up on this topic in previous occasions. For example, after his early exit from the 2025 French Open, De Minaur criticized the "grueling" schedule that demanded too much of players and said it was "not normal."

While another Aussie, Jordan Thompson, called the ATP schedule "sh-t" and "just a joke". During the French Open, the WTA star, Daria Kasatkina, also highlighted that she felt little signs of burnout or something like that, and she also agreed with Alex de Minaur on their schedule being "pretty rough."

Seeing these constant complaints from the players, tennis bigwig Jon Wertheim even stated, "These players are not robots!" Do you also think it's becoming a bit tougher for the players to cope with this grueling schedule year by year?

Written by

Sayantan Roy

Edited by

Shrabana Sengupta