Recently, American ATP professional Taylor Fritz–ranked 4 globally–voiced his displeasure with the intense schedule of Tour events leading up to US Open, particularly those hosted in Masters events prior to Monte Carlo or Paris. These changes didn’t sit well with him–world No.1 Italian player Jannik Sinner has also voiced their views.
Sinner secured victory against France’s Terence Atmane at the Cincinnati Open semifinal, setting him up to face Carlos Alcaraz in the final on Monday due to adjustments made in Masters tournament’s schedule. When inquired by reporters regarding this change during press conferences, Sinner voiced his preference for one-week events similar to Monte Carlo that feature superb match quality from first round onward and where even top seeds may drop early but remain highly competitive contests.
He pointed out the disorientation caused by varying final day schedules across different tournaments, indicating a loss of track of days among players. However, Sinner also admitted a nuanced view, appreciating the extra rest day after a prolonged match, though his general preference leans towards playing the final the very next day.
Fritz, too, acknowledged mixed feelings despite his initial disappointment with the current scheduling. He appreciated the day-off, play-a-day format at certain events like the Citi Open in Washington D.C. Yet, the core of his frustration lies in the compact scheduling, which leaves little room for recovery, particularly highlighted by his relentless participation in tournaments post the grass season.
Taylor Fritz’s Ideal ATP Schedule
Fritz underlined the adverse effects of the packed calendar on players’ fitness and readiness for successive tournaments. He proposed an alternative, favoring a return to one-week Masters 1000 events if it could extend the off-season. Such an adjustment would greatly benefit players, granting them a six to seven-week recovery period, compared to the mere four weeks they currently get. Nevertheless, adding more tournaments in lieu of lengthening the off-season would have him prefer the status quo.
Fritz was on an exhaustive schedule after an impressive grass season, competing at Washington D.C., Toronto and Cincinnati consecutively without much rest in between events. Although early elimination in Cincinnati resulted in Fritz being drawn for mixed doubles play with Elena Rybakina at New York US Open followed immediately thereafter by singles competition.
Fritz and Sinner represent a general dissatisfaction among ATP players regarding recent changes to the US Open series schedule, particularly concerning competitive play versus adequate rest issues that remain key concerns of these two.