Well-known faces of the tennis scene are increasingly rebelling against the demanding tennis schedule. The last exhibition tournament in Saudi Arabia once again showed the dominance of Jannik Sinner who earned as much as $6 million by winning, a figure that he would have difficulty earning in regular ATP competitions.
Among the tennis players who raised their voices are Taylor Fritz and Jack Draper, and the famous analyst John Wertheim also reacted via social media.
In his post, he stressed that most players have a problem playing so many tournaments and that it is much easier for them to go to a tournament in Riyadh and take a huge amount of money in a few days.
"Sinner made $6m for beating Alcaraz to win Saudi. Sinner made $4m for beating Alcaraz to win @Wimbledon title. Maybe these $$exhibitions$$ are in response to the schedule demands – not inconsistent with them. Top players ask: why grind (for 12 days now) in the August heat of "mandatory" Canada and Cincy…when I can pop into Riyadh for a few days, play indoors and at set times, give less-than-full effort, and make more $$?" Wertheim wrote.
Taylor Fritz defends his views
Taylor Fritz defended his views a few days ago, which some previously interpreted as hypocrisy. Namely, in an interview with the media, he said that exhibitions are a significantly different thing than real tournaments.
Will this force ATP leaders to think about the schedule and certain changes, it is difficult to give a real answer.
At this point, it seems that tennis players will have to organize their schedules and adapt to these conditions. Fans still seem to have mixed opinions when it comes to the tight ATP schedule, but many are standing up for the players, especially those they like.
The future of tennis seems more exciting than ever, but if players continue to share their dissatisfaction in the future, it could force tennis governing bodies to change something.
