Tommy Paul's long-time coach Brad Stine praised Felix Auger-Aliassime's comments on the tennis calendar while ripping the players who frequently complain about the schedule.
Late in the year, multiple players – including some of the biggest names of men's and women's tennis – complained about the schedule being "too long and demanding." Carlos Alcaraz stated that "something must be done about it," while Iga Swiatek threatened to miss some mandatory tournaments next year.
When Auger-Aliassime, who was one of the players with the most matches played in the second part of 2025, was asked to share his thoughts on the matter, he said that he loved his job. Also, the Canadian bluntly stated that, "If you want to play less tournaments, stay home."
“I loved it. All respect to Felix for commenting and commenting in a way that I think was absolutely on target and correct. This is your job. Just like with any job, you always have choices. You want to quit your job, you can quit your job. You want to take a week off from your job, you can take a week off. You may get fired, but you can take a week off," Stine said on The Slice Tennis.
Stine: Nobody is holding a gun to their head and forcing them to play
After making his point clear, Stine also said that tennis players "have the luxury of staying home for a week or two if they want." Then, Paul's coach underlined that "there are ramifications to that" – as there are in any job.
“Nobody is holding a gun to their head and saying that they absolutely have to play. You can take any week off that you want to take off. Are there ramifications? Of course. And there should be," Stine added.
ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi recently defended the current schedule and indicated that he didn't see any reasons for making drastic changes to it.
