Grueling Tennis: How to Fix the ATP/WTA Calendar?

The Exhausting Tennis Season: When Will There Be a Break?

The 2024 professional tennis season officially concluded on December 22nd, when Joao Fonseca claimed the title at the ATP Next Gen Finals in Saudi Arabia, defeating Learner Tien. The start of the 2025 season arrived quickly, on December 27th, with the United Cup in Australia. Fonseca and Tien returned to the courts on December 30th for tournaments in Australia and Hong Kong, respectively.

“I don’t understand how the ’25 season starts in ’24. It’s a joke,” commented Jordan Thompson, 2024 US Open doubles champion.

Jordan Thompson

While Fonseca and Tien had approximately four weeks of rest before the Next Gen Finals, the short waiting time between events underlines the little respite professional tennis players have to rest, recover, and prepare for a new season. There was little more than a month between the Billie Jean King Cup and the Davis Cup and the United Cup. The WTA Finals and the ATP Finals were held in mid-November.

The length of the season, along with the relentless and global nature of the circuit, has been a constant complaint among players, but it has intensified in recent years. Alex de Minaur attributed his early exit from the French Open to feeling “burnt out.” Iga Swiatek criticized the demands of the “super intense” calendar when she was unable to participate in a Billie Jean King Cup qualifying tournament in the spring. Several players, including Frances Tiafoe, Danielle Collins, Jack Draper, and Daria Kasatkina, ended their seasons early this year, citing injuries and mental fatigue.

“The truth is that I’ve reached a breaking point and can’t continue. I need a break. A break from the monotonous daily routine of life on the circuit, the suitcases, the results, the pressure, the same faces (sorry, girls), everything that this life entails,” Kasatkina expressed in a social media post. “The schedule is too much, mentally and emotionally I’m at a breaking point and, unfortunately, I’m not alone.”

Daria Kasatkina

As the 2025 season draws to a close and players turn their attention almost immediately to 2026, the conversation about the length and intensity of the tennis season will only continue. The big question is: Will there be any changes in the near future?

Taylor Fritz, the highest-ranked American tennis player, had a standout season in 2024. After reaching the quarterfinals at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, he reached his first major tournament final at the US Open. At the end of the season, he won two ATP titles, reached four finals (including the ATP Finals), won an Olympic bronze medal in doubles with Tommy Paul, and achieved a new professional ranking, placing him at number 4. However, there was no time to celebrate. In fact, his success only extended his season, as he secured an invitation to the year-end ATP Finals and would play in the Davis Cup finals.

“There is no off-season, and if you’re a top player, you actually have even less off-season,” Fritz commented at the beginning of the year. “If the season ended in Paris [in early November] as it does for most players, then you have a month and a half before the season starts, maybe even a little more, I think maybe an extra week, but if you play the Tour Finals and the Davis Cup, you’re actually adding three more weeks, and then, if you play the United Cup like me, because you’re a top player, it also starts earlier.”

Taylor Fritz

For Fritz, that resulted in approximately three weeks between the end of his 2024 season and the start of his 2025 campaign. He returned home at the end of November and had to leave for Australia on December 21st. As he pointed out, he had a lot to do during that period.

“People don’t understand that you have to train during that time,” Fritz said. “The offseason is your time to train, so if I have three weeks, I take a week [to relax or go on vacation] and that’s it. I have one week off all year. It’s absurd.”

Taylor Fritz

Since many players use this time to implement the changes they want, whether at a technical level or in their coaching staff, it is a crucial period. But, is it more important than having the opportunity to rest or recover after a physically demanding season on the road? That is decided by each player.

For some, the off-season, however brief, marks one of the few times they can spend at home. This is especially true for Australians, who spend most of the season living out of suitcases.

“For me, when I go back to Australia, I just want to go to the beach, relax, take two weeks off the rackets,” Thompson said at the start of the 2025 season. “But I still have to do a lot of physical work to stay in shape. It’s literally three weeks before you go back into tournament mode. You can’t afford any mistakes with that amount of free time physically.”

Jordan Thompson

Can a player find time during the season to take a break? Former world number 1, Novak Djokovic, 38, only participated in the main events this summer, skipping all ATP tournaments in June, July and August. His goal was to prioritize winning a record-breaking 25th major title, and spending time with his family. But he is also in an unusual position. He has said that he is not concerned about his ranking at this stage of his career, and with more than $190 million earned in on-court prize money, finances are also not a concern.

The circuits require players to participate in a certain number of tournaments each year. ATP players who qualify must participate in the four major tournaments, eight Masters 1000 level events, and five 500 level tournaments, including one held after the US Open. Top WTA players must also participate in the Grand Slams, in addition to 10 1000 level tournaments and six 500 level events. Seven of the 1000 level tournaments now last 12 days, and several have recently been extended from one week. A player can be exempted from a major tournament or 1000-level tournaments due to injury, but if a WTA player does not meet the threshold of six tournaments for 500-level events, ranking points will be deducted. Current number 1, Aryna Sabalenka, and number 2, Swiatek, as well as others in the top 10 like Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova and Madison Keys, lost points at the end of the 2024 season because they did not participate in the required number of tournaments. Swiatek, who was number 1 at the time, fell to number 2. Many of the best players have openly expressed the impact of the duration and requirements of the schedule, especially since they often reach the final stages of the tournaments in which they participate. Swiatek, who had been playing in one of the matches shortened by injury at the China Open in September, was quick to blame the schedule after Camila Osorio, her opponent, retired after the first set of their match. She told reporters that she would probably “have to choose some tournaments and skip them, even if they are mandatory” in the future.

“The WTA, with all these mandatory rules, has made it pretty crazy for us,” Swiatek said. “I don’t think any of the top players can achieve this, playing all six 500 tournaments. It’s just impossible to fit it into the calendar.”

Iga Swiatek

Swiatek lost in her next match, then reached the quarterfinals in Wuhan before failing to advance from the group stage at the WTA Finals.

The WTA and others in the sport have repeatedly pointed to extended 1000-level tournaments as part of how they could ensure equal prize money at tournaments with their male counterparts.

“I always hear shouts for more prize money, more prize money and this is what the circuit has to [do] – to increase the prize money, they have had to extend the duration of these tournaments,” said Anne Keothavong, former player and captain of the Great Britain Billie Jean King Cup team, in a recent interview on Sky Sports. “So, what do you want?”

Anne Keothavong

Gauff, the world number 3, did not disagree with that argument, but said it was “impossible” to meet all the requirements in a given year.

“I guess from a business perspective, it might make sense, but from a player health perspective, I don’t agree,” Gauff said at the China Open. “Basically, I’ve played as much tennis as I can and it’s impossible to keep up with the six 500 tournaments. It’s just impossible.”

Coco Gauff

Gauff participated in three 500-level tournaments in 2025, as did Sabalenka, Swiatek, and Anisimova. Keys participated in four. However, that didn’t result in fewer matches. Swiatek played 80 matches this season, leading the circuit. Sabalenka appeared in 76 (as did WTA Finals champion Elena Rybakina), Gauff in 65, Anisimova in 63, and Keys in 53. The condition of the top players was fully on display at the Shanghai Masters in October. Many complained about the brutal heat and humidity, and others felt the weight of the long season. Carlos Alcaraz, world number 1, withdrew before the tournament began due to a left ankle injury. Jannik Sinner, world number two, retired from his third-round match due to cramps. Djokovic vomited during his round of 32 match and needed treatment for a back injury during his semi-final defeat. The final featured Valentin Vacherot, then ranked number 204 in the world and ninth alternate in the qualifying phase, against his cousin Arthur Rinderknech, then ranked number 40. An incredible story, no doubt, but perhaps not the title match that the ATP was hoping for at one of its flagship events.

Last month, the ATP announced that it would add another Masters 1000 level tournament to its calendar starting in 2028, in Saudi Arabia. This will raise the total number in the category to 10, with nine of them mandatory. (Monte Carlo remains an optional event). It is not yet clear exactly when the tournament will take place during the already packed calendar, or if women will also be included. The French Open, the Australian Open, and the US Open have added an extra day of play to their main draw in recent years, changing the start day from Monday to Sunday. Several players expressed their opposition in New York this year when the US Open implemented it for the first time.

“I’m really not a fan,” said Jessica Pegula, currently ranked number 6. “I don’t know why they had to make it even longer. Well, I know why they did it: they can sell tickets for an extra day.”

Jessica Pegula

Brad Stine, Tommy Paul’s lifelong coach, acknowledges that the debate about the length of the season is nothing new. He has been a coach at the professional level since 1990, when he began working with Jim Courier, and he has heard everything over the years. While Stine believes that the ATP and WTA should get rid of the “mandatory” distinction in tournaments and ensure that there is a week or two of rest after each Grand Slam, he also believes that players should be less “paranoid” about losing ranking points and skipping tournaments whenever they feel they need a break.

“No one is forced to play. You can take time off whenever you want to take time off,” he said.

Brad Stine

Furthermore, he believes that many of the players undermine their concerns by participating in lucrative exhibitions during the off-season or other breaks in the schedule.

“There doesn’t seem to be a shortage of players looking to participate in those events,” Stine said. “Some of them are the players who are proponents of a shorter season. ‘We need more breaks, we need a shorter season.’ But when they are given the opportunity to have time off, they choose to play more events.”

Brad Stine

Alcaraz, one of the most vocal advocates for the need for a shorter season, participated in the lucrative Six Kings Slam in October and is scheduled to participate in several other exhibition events in December, including in New York, Newark, and Miami. He was quick to dismiss the correlation.

“It’s a different format, a different situation playing exhibitions than official tournaments, 15, 16 days in a row, having so much concentration and demanding physically,” Alcaraz said during a press conference at the Six Kings Slam. “We are simply having fun for one or two days and playing tennis, and that’s great, and that’s why we choose exhibitions.”

Carlos Alcaraz

“I understand [the criticism], but sometimes people don’t understand us, our opinions. It’s not really mentally demanding [compared to] when we have events as long as two weeks or two and a half weeks.”

While it seems that most players believe that something has to change, the details present a challenge.

“You just have to shorten it. It’s too much,” Fritz said when asked what should be changed. “It’s too much.”

Taylor Fritz

He added that he did not believe that changes were coming.

“I don’t think they’re listening to us,” he said. “I think you have me, Carlos and Sasha [Zverev], so three of the top four players in the world saying you just need to shorten it, and there’s really been no conversation about changing it.”

Taylor Fritz

And it’s not that simple. While it might seem logical, for example, to end the season after the US Open with the year-end finals shortly after, that leaves 12 WTA and 13 ATP tournaments (in addition to the Billie Jean King Cup, the Davis Cup and the Laver Cup) currently on the list without a place on the calendar. Organizations and host cities pay a premium license fee to host each event, and prices vary depending on the level of the tournament, and they typically sign multi-year agreements to do so.

While changes have been few and far between, there have been some.

The Billie Jean King Cup final, which was played in November last year and in recent seasons, was moved to September to allow for a longer off-season for WTA players this year. It was also held in Shenzhen, China, for the first time, allowing many players to play smoothly on the Asian tour immediately afterwards. (However, the playoffs to determine the qualifying teams for the 2026 tournament will be held from November 14 to 16 and will feature 21 countries). The Davis Cup maintained its previous schedule and is scheduled to begin on November 18 in Bologna, Italy, and conclude on November 23. There have been discussions about more significant changes. In 2024, the four Grand Slams initiated initial conversations for a “Premier Tour”, with an annual calendar that would consist of the majors, approximately another 10 events, and a year-end final. In response, the WTA and ATP proposed a similar version of the idea to the Slams, in an effort to “restructure the sport”, in the spring of this year. According to The Athletic, that plan would also include the four majors, 10 level 1000 events, 17 level 500 events for the WTA and 16 for the ATP, and a reduction in level 250 tournaments through the repurchase of licenses. Ultimately, it would decrease the number of tournaments between the two organizations from 118 to approximately 75. But the WTA and ATP failed to convince the Grand Slams of the idea, in part due to the proposed board structure to oversee the new venture. But while drastically transforming the sport might be off the table, for now at least, there are other, smaller ways to address the problem. Former world number 1 Andy Roddick contemplated changing the order of events in the fall calendar on a recent episode of his podcast “Served”.

“Why can’t [ATP 250 level tournaments like the Nordic Open and the European Open] exist after the World Tour finals?” Roddick asked. “Why can’t we have a wrap-around season where these [250s] last a month [before the new year]? [If] more players want more opportunities, great, then do it. And then the top players, if they choose to play Six Kings or some other exhibition, then they can no longer complain that the schedule is too long because it’s not crammed in the middle of the year. [As it is] they have to fill some space. They have to play something before the World Tour Finals. If it ends in the second half of November, something has to give. We have to aim to finish before November 1st.”

Andy Roddick

The WTA and ATP are no strangers to the complaints and concerns of their players. In a statement provided to ESPN, the WTA called the well-being of athletes a “top priority” and said that the organization is in constant communication with the players, including through the players’ council and representatives on the WTA Board. “Following an exhaustive review, our player and tournament representatives voted in favor of introducing improvements to the circuit season structure in 2024,” the WTA statement continued. “The updated structure offers significant increases in player compensation ($400 million in the coming years), adds more competitive opportunities at all levels of the circuit, and establishes clearer player participation guidelines for top-ranked players to ensure stronger fields at premier events, all while making it easier for fans to follow and connect with the players and the season.” The organization added that it was “committed to keeping the structure [of the] circuit under review”. When asked for comment, the ATP directed ESPN to an August interview with chairman Andrea Gaudenzi. In it, Gaudenzi called the schedule “complex,” but said an ATP goal was to “extend the off-season.” However, he added that the ATP was one of many professional tennis organizing bodies with a say over the schedule and emphasized the individual nature of tennis.

“One player could be out in the first round, another is lifting the trophy after the final,” Gaudenzi said. “Finding a solution that works for both ends of that spectrum is never simple, and you can’t build a calendar around a single cohort of players. All cohorts must be considered.”

Andrea Gaudenzi

But it’s clear that, no matter how separate the players and those in power seem to be on the schedule, the current situation is, at best, precarious. Djokovic, who spent several years on the ATP player council and founded the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) in 2020, has long been a fierce critic of the current and evolving calendar and, according to his estimation, has been speaking out against it for “more than 15 years”. But even he acknowledged that it was a “very complex” issue when asked about it before the Shanghai Masters event in October. Ultimately, he said that if the players wanted to see a change, they would simply have to do more and learn the various layers of the tennis ecosystem.

“In the end, as a player and someone who has been playing at the highest level for more than 20 years, I can say that the players are not united enough,” Djokovic said. “Players are not participating enough when they should. Then they make comments and complain, and then they leave… But you have to invest the time, you have to invest energy yourself… to understand how the system works, to understand what are the things that can be done to be reversed, to be improved in terms of players’ interest.”

Novak Djokovic

“Because going on the media and talking about this and that, it’s fine, it could awaken some energy or some attention. But at the end of the day, nothing is going to change, you know? I know it from my personal experience, believe me.”