Tournament duty Alcaraz and Zverev harshly criticize the ATP: "It will kill us"
Tennis stars Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz are not fans of the long tournament calendar. The German speaks of "money-making". Alcaraz expects many cancellations due to injury in the future.
23.09.2024, 08:44
23.09.2024, 08:48
dpa
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- Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz criticize the ATP's overcrowded tournament calendar at the Laver Cup in Berlin.
- The two tennis stars fear an overload and many injuries among the players.
- For most players, the tennis season starts in January and ends in November.
Tennis star Alexander Zverev has voiced massive criticism of the packed tournament calendar. "We have the longest season in sport. It's unnecessarily long. There is no time to rest. There is no time to prepare the body and build up muscles," said Zverev at the Laver Cup in Berlin and reproached the men's professional organization ATP: "The ATP is not interested in our opinion. It's a money business."
The season starts for most of the pros right after Christmas with the United Cup in Australia and sometimes lasts until the Davis Cup finals at the end of November. "We come back from vacation and start tennis training straight away because we have to play in Australia in two or three weeks' time," the world number two continued.
The stress issue is also currently being discussed in football, after Rodri from Manchester City sparked the debate and did not even rule out a strike. "We are not allowed to strike. We'll be fined if we don't play the tournaments," said Zverev.
"That will kill us"
In addition to the four Grand Slam tournaments, the Masters 1000 events are mandatory for the players. For him, playing fewer tournaments is not an option, said Zverev (27). "If you're an ambitious young person who feels like you haven't achieved everything yet, that's not an option. The tour then goes on without you."
French Open and Wimbledon winner Carlos Alcaraz expressed similar sentiments. "I'm one of those players for whom there are too many compulsory tournaments a year. And there will probably be even more in the next few years. That will kill us," said the Spaniard. The 21-year-old predicted that there would be even more injuries in the future: "At some point, a lot of good players will miss a lot of tournaments because they have to think about their bodies."
Despite a heavy workload, Zverev and Alcaraz secured victory for Team Europe at the Laver Cup. In Berlin, the Europeans won the tennis competition of the continental teams in dramatic fashion 13:11 against Team World.
Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz turned the tide in the last two singles matches. The match was only decided in the last game, which Alcaraz won 6:2, 7:5 against Taylor Fritz.
