When it comes to the future of tennis, count Jack Draper among the players who has concerns. The British No.1, who spoke at length to the Tennis Podcast this week, is worried that the current modus operandi of the ATP Tour is making the tour a lonely place that is not condusive to long-term growth.
He joined a chorus of voices that has urged the ATP to rethink it’s current calendar, and advocated for a slimmed-down schedule that would allow for players to have more time off the tour, and shorter off-seasons.
Draper, who has not played since the US Open due to an arm injury, breaks it all down during this open dialog. The Brit will be in action in December, at the UTS Grand Final in London.
You can view the full interview below:
“Young players are looking ahead in their careers and thinking: ‘How long am I really going to be able to play this sport for, how long am I going to be able to cope with the demands of what I’m doing? I hate to see that,” Draper told the Tennis Podcast, before delving into his concerns about the state of the ATP’s schedule as it currently stands.
Draper, like many of his peers, is particularly upset about the ATP’s new calendar that features seven two-week Masters 1000 events, up from the previous two. Those five extra weeks are draining the players and turning the tour into a lonely endeavor that is tough on mental health of the players.
The current world No.11 gave a wide-ranging interview with the Tennis Podcast trio – Catherine Whitaker, Davis Law and Matt Roberts – but was most interested in saying what he felt had to be said. That change needs to happen for the good of the players.
“It’s something that I feel really passionate about,” Draper said. “The fact that there is so much conversation in tennis right now, it needs someone to speak up, talk out about it, regardless of any criticism that comes along with it and hopefully advocate for some positive solutions.”
Draper warned that burnout is real, and that players are suffering over the course of the long season, with nonstop travel and few opportunities to jump off the treadmill. He says that the dog-eat-dog atmosphere on tour makes it difficult for players to step away and give up opportunities to gain points and earn ranking points.
More about player welfare than money
“More to do with the player welfare, the mental burnout that certain things in the calendar are causing,” he said, adding: “A big part of it is that tennis players are just on the road so much now, and the governing bodies are adding more days, more requirements to the players… It’s really hard being on the road for that long, and I’m someone who can go away to Madrid and come back home. A lot of these guys are from South America, or Asia, and they just never have any balance of life anymore. I think that’s a big problem.”
Make no mistake about it, Draper isn’t happy about having to complain, and he doesn’t want to throw the ATP under the bus. He says that the schedule is simply too much, even if it comes with the best intentions.
“I love the ATP,” said Draper. “However there are some issues that players aren’t happy with. I think the intention was really good with making the Masters 1000s 12 days, increasing the revenue for the events, and giving back to the players, especially the ones who are performing really well. But the requirements are high. They’ve added an extra, say, 21 days onto an already really packed schedule.”
The ATP added the extra weeks as part of prioritizing premier events, but the effect has drawn near unanimous criticism from the players, who would prefer to get the events over and done with in a week, rather than stretching them out over two weeks.
The ATP has added financial compensation along with requirements, stretching its ATP Masters 1000 and Nitto ATP Finals Bonus Pool payments in 2025, which is up to $21 million, from $11.5 million in 2022. But the financial gains are outweighed by the mental stress in Draper’s opinion.
The Off-Season Needs to be Longer
“It’s a really tough thing to sort of verbalize because we are in such a great position,” Draper said. “But at the same time, when you’re out there, five matches in seven days is so much easier than seven matches in 14 days because there’s so much dead time, there’s so much waiting around.“It’s more to do with just the player welfare, the mental burnout.”
The off-season is another issue for Draper. He said it would be massive for the sport to give players time to go home and refresh, be with family and just generally decompress. That’s another area that has long been a bone of contention for the tour’s players.
“In terms of an off-season, I’d say a month and a half would be more than enough. Just not two, three, four weeks. I really don’t think that’s beneficial for anyone. I think as a fan of the sport, as someone who, if I were just watching tennis, I’d want it to be a bit more scarce. I’d want it to be more like more build-up. Like you’re waiting for the next event. Like you waiting to see how players have improved and what they’re doing.
“Every week there’s a different match on, there’s a different tournament. You can’t follow it because three different places there’s events and I feel it kind of needs to just take a step back and realise that the product doesn’t have to be out there all the time, but if we can have a product that’s out there for when it’s needed and not necessarily just 24/7, that’s really important.”
