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IIn the final weeks of the 2025 tennis season, the sport’s many issues appear to be colliding, painting an unpleasant picture of chaos. As the players melted in Shanghai, Holger Ruhn asked: “Do you want players to die on the pitch?” He was shocked by the lack of warm-up rules in Shanghai. ATP Tour. It made for some high-profile headlines, but also reflected how several off-court topics dominated the agenda after September’s U.S. Open. Iga Swiatek critical of mandatory requirements Women’s Tennis Association Some players have cut their seasons short, citing burnout, calling the season “too long and too intense.” “Mentally and emotionally I was on the verge of a breakdown and sadly I was not alone,” Darya Kasatkina said.
at the same time, Jannik Sinner and Alina Sabalenka A group of leading runners representing the men’s and women’s top ten were recorded for more bonuses Criticized the lack of progress in discussions on player welfare at the Grand Slams. The 22-year-old Rooney is fighting hard for the ATP Finals. Achilles tendon tearA horrific injury has drawn further attention to the tennis schedule and led to Jack Draper As Britain’s number one figure, he is particularly vocal in his calls for change Continue to take care of his left arm injury.
And all this is accompanied by the four Grand Slam tournaments, as well as the ATP and WTA, facing legal action The breakaway Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) sued, citing “systemic abuse, anti-competitive conduct and blatant disregard for player welfare”.
These issues – schedules, player benefits, prize money – are nothing new. In fact, as the 2026 season begins, Australian Open is comingthe same discussion would have taken place last year, the year before, and so on. Legend Venus Williams, 45, appears in Australian Open main draw Wild card to the tournamentperhaps symbolizing a sport that often takes time to change direction.
Many people point out that tennis has seven governing bodies, namely the ATP, WTA, ITF and the four historic Grand Slam tournaments. Wimbledon, Roland Garrosthis australian open and US Openmeaning getting everyone around the same table is challenging enough.
But disgruntled players also bring pressure. For example, Feeling of “disappointment” The Australian Open has announced record prize money for the 2026 tournament, an increase that is in line with Tennis Australia’s revenue growth in the previous year. Players want a bigger share as compensation and outlined their target in a letter to the Grand Slam to reach 22% of tournament revenue by 2030.
The leading group of players also feel their calls for more consultation on tournament matters, such as the schedule and new Sunday starts for three of the four Grand Slams, and pension contributions have been ignored. when speaking independent Last season, Draper said that while players might appear to be complaining, they “Advocate for positive change”. But tensions are rising.
The Grand Slams insist they are “always open to constructive discussions” about the “future success” of tennis, but ongoing legal action by the PTPA has become a stumbling block to further talks at the US Open in September after four Grand Slam tournaments were included in antitrust proceedings.
The group has since accused the sport’s governing body of operating a “cartel” through its “monopolistic control” and reached a settlement with Tennis Australia, the organizer of the Australian Open, details of which have not been disclosed.
at the same time, Novak Djokovic Severed all ties with PTPA The agency he co-founded in 2020due to “ongoing concerns about transparency, governance and how my voice and image are represented.” Both the ATP and WTA strongly rejected the PTPA’s claims and joined Wimbledon, Roland Garros and the U.S. Open filed a motion to dismiss the suit.
Frustrated by ‘crazy’ schedule
“Tennis is a sport where players are the most valuable asset,” Draper Last fall, as a star player in the ATP and WTA Running dry Frustration over scheduling has resurfaced. during an interview Tennis PodcastDraper has been particularly vocal in criticizing the expanded 12-day Masters event. “I haven’t heard any players say they like it,” Draper said.
Draper, 24, stressed how “lonely” the 12-day Masters tournament had become rather than how physically demanding it was. “When you’re on the court, it’s a lot easier to play five games in seven days than seven games in 14 days because there’s so much downtime, there’s so much waiting time.”
ATP President Andrea Gaudenzi has made the 12-day Masters tournament (currently seven of the nine, excluding Monte Carlo and Paris) a key pillar of the ATP OneVision programme. He said the tournament would be able to increase revenue by selling more tickets, allowing them to invest in infrastructure and give players a bigger share.
When answering a question about a “complex” calendar in an interview Published by ATPGaudenzi urged top players to commit to a “smart calendar” that prioritizes the top events – the majors, the Masters 1000 and a handful of 500 events – rather than “watering it down”. Meanwhile, the ATP has cut the mandatory number of 500 events until 2026 from five to four. The WTA said player welfare was a “top priority” and said it had listened to complaints from players on the schedule.
However, players are increasingly taking matters into their own hands. Aryna Sabalenka says she will continue Skip some mandatory WTA 500 eventsaccepting a ranking point penalty in the process to stay fresh at the Grand Slams and 1000s.
Sabalenka called the schedule and mandatory requirements, which require the WTA’s top players to compete in at least six WTA 500 events as well as four Grand Slams and 10 WTA 1000 events, as “crazy”. As the world’s No. 1, Sabalenka can at least be more flexible and participate in exhibition matches. Like December’s “Battle of the Sexes.”
Carlos Alcaraz Also continues to perform in exhibitions Despite his criticism of the tennis schedulethe men’s No. 1 explained that he enjoys competing in these events and doesn’t find them physically taxing. Appearance fees undoubtedly help as well, but also create a loophole where stars can have their winnings deducted by skipping mandatory tour events and then reclaim them elsewhere, e.g. October’s Lucrative Six-King Slam in Saudi Arabia. Alcaraz and Sinner start their seasons and hold exhibitions in South Koreainstead of going to Australia to play a warm-up match.
Alcaraz played the most matches on the ATP Tour last season with 80, which is perhaps unsurprising given that Sabalenka often entered the late stages of matches and that Sabalenka’s 75 matches was the most in the WTA. On the other hand, as ATP President Gaudenzi explained, lower-ranked players will play more tournaments, but in far fewer tournaments.
However, players who exit a tournament earlier in the week will be incentivized to participate in the next tournament as they chase ranking points to maintain or improve their position in the 52-week rolling leaderboard. Three-time Grand Slam finalist Caspar Rudd described it as a “rat race”. There is a feeling that this two-level split does no one any good.
Over the years, key stakeholders have been working to address the structural issues identified in the sport’s calendar and timetable.
One suggestion is to adopt a “less is more” approach and a “premium” tour that guarantees top stars competing at the top events between the Grand Slams and provides a clear mid-season break to keep players fresh for the four most important tournaments of the year. Lower ranked events will remain and progress to the top level.
But with power in tennis still so fragmented, any proposed reforms – from players, tours or Grand Slams – lack the collective support to move forward. The tennis world still has the same discussions about the same topics.
However, there is at least one new initiative ahead of the 2026 season. Following Shanghai State, the ATP introduced new heat rules, which will mandate a 10-minute cooling break or suspension of play if players, spectators or caddies are at risk of heat stress. Change is possible. This usually takes time.