"Give players complete rest" - After Carlos Alcaraz, Andy Murray's ex-coach calls for big change in tennis calendar amid questions over health 

After Carlos Alcaraz's comments on the tennis calendar being tight, Andy Murray's ex-coach and former tennis player Mark Petchey has called for changes in the player's schedule. He feels that the players and fans need some time to recharge during the season to be fresh for the final stretch.

After his shocking defeat to Botic Van de Zandschulp in the second round of the US Open, Alcaraz had highlighted how the tennis calendar was tight.

"Yeah, I mean, tennis calendar is so tight. I've been playing a lot of matches lately. With Roland Garros, Wimbledon, Olympics Games, I took a little break after Olympics Games," Alcaraz said during his press conference on Thursday (1:44). "I thought it was obviously really helpful for me, probably wasn't enough."

The youngster also highlighted this issue during the Laver Cup, for which he received some flak from tennis fans.

Now, Mark Petchey, Andy Murray's former coach, has taken to X (formerly Twitter) to mention the mandatory tournaments a player on the ATP has to participate in after the US Open, which included an ATP 500, the Shanghai Masters, the Paris Masters, and the Nitto ATP Finals (if qualified). He then pointed out the significant financial incentive of $8 million that a player could earn if they win all four events without losing a match.

He said that the Netflix tennis docuseries Break Point didn't work because the players complained too much about how the life of a player on tour was hard, which wasn't appreciated by normal people because of the hefty potential earnings in the sport. Petchey admitted that the schedule was hard, but said the discussions to make life better should be done behind the scenes.

"One of the reason Break Point didn’t work was there was too much moaning about how tough life is on the tour. Normal people look at those days of work and the amount potentially you can make and get turned off with the ‘life is so tough’ line," he wrote.

"No one isn’t saying it’s hard, the schedule could be better but most of the discussions about how to make it make more sense should be done behind closed doors," he added.

Petchey proposed a break between Wimbledon and two weeks before the US Open to allow players and fans to rejuvenate for the final stretch of the season. He also suggested that the season should conclude in late October or early November, with the next season starting in Australia.

"Obvious to everyone there should be a mid season break. Nothing after Wimbledon till 2 weeks before the US Open. Give fans and players a chance to recharge," he expressed.

"They run the season till end of October/first week November. Give players complete rest. Restart in Australia," he concluded.

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"We can still choose what to play and what not to play" - Jannik Sinner disagrees with Carlos Alcaraz

Jannik Sinner doesn't agree with Carlos Alcaraz's comments (Image via Getty)

Jannik Sinner didn't share the same thoughts as his rival Carlos Alcaraz when talking about the tennis schedule. While he acknowledged the demanding schedule, the Italian emphasized that players have the autonomy to select the events they wish to participate in.

“The schedule is quite long these years. But as players, we can still choose what to play and what not to play. Obviously we have some mandatory events, yes. As a player, you can still choose. It is a very busy schedule this year, there are a lot of tournaments. You don’t have to play in a tournament. If you want, you can play. If not, you don’t play," he said.

Sinner also mentioned that he had opted out of certain tournaments this year and last year to focus on his training. Despite this, he reaffirmed his agreement with the notion that the season is indeed lengthy.

"For example last year and also this year, I didn’t play some tournaments because I wanted to practice. There are some choices behind this. In general, yeah, the season is quite long, so sometimes it’s not easy,” he added.

Alcaraz and Sinner will next be seen in action at the China Open. While the Spaniard will play Giovanni Mpteshi Perricard, the Italian will face Nicolas Jarry in the opening round.