“I'm not a fan of where this is going” - Alexander Zverev slams ATP; joins Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz & more in criticizing hectic schedule

Alexander Zverev is the latest name to join the list of tennis stars speaking out against the hectic schedule of the ATP Tour. The German slammed the organisation for the lengthy tournament calendar and urged them to take players seriously and find a solution to the matter.

The ATP and WTA tours currently begin each season in late December or early January, with hard court tournaments like the United Cup and the Brisbane International. Once the season kicks off, top players on the ATP and WTA Tour are required to compete in several mandatory events. As of late, many stars, including Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz, have spoken out about the taxing effects of the 11-month long tennis season.

In a recent appearance on the Nothing Major Show, Alexander Zverev was asked if he would like to compete in fewer events every year. Responding to this, the German stated (at 17:15),

“The thing is I would love to, but with how the ATP has done the tournaments nowadays, it's impossible to. You have the nine Masters 1000 events which are mandatory, most of them are two week long events nowadays except Monte Carlo and Paris BC. Now the ATP has made four mandatory 500 events for you to play. This used to be three, now it's four. So, you kind of don't really get under 20 events except if you are pulling out of those big events. I'm not a fan of where this is going.”

Zverev went on to give the example of Alex de Minaur, who played his last match of 2024 on 25th November and his first match of 2025 on 27th December and subsequently only got a month of off-season.

“You have a month of off-season. How are you going to take two weeks off, how are you going to prepare your body for a new season, how are you going to train enough tennis. You don't have the time to do all those things anymore. So I think this is one subject where the ATP has to really think about it and find a solution as well,” he said.

On the WTA Tour, Grand Slam champions Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff have spoken out against the hectic schedule of the tennis season.

Alexander Zverev becomes 5th active man to achieve 500 career wins

Zverev at the ATP Masters 1000 National Bank Open (Image Source: Getty)

Alexander Zverev has been one of the most prominent players the tennis world has seen in recent years. The German’s career has seen him win 24 titles, including two wins at the ATP Tour Finals. He has also reached the finals of multiple Grand Slam events.

Recently, after his first round victory over Matteo Arnaldi at the Canadian Open, Alexander Zverev unlocked a major achievement. He became only the fifth active man on the ATP tour to have won 500 matches. He is the seventh-fastest player to achieve this feat in this century.

Other tennis stars that reached the 500 wins milestone in the 21st century include Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and more.