The ATP and WTA Tours are desperately trying to find a solution to the outstanding issue plaguing their players at the moment.
After all, it is widely accepted that the schedule is completely wrong.
Despite relying completely on their athletes, they still work them tirelessly all season, in a sport that rewards participation and penalises absence, even if it is through injury.
It is a unique dynamic, made even more gruelling given the fact that the off-season is barely a month and a half long. No wonder Iga Swiatek has been so vocal in her complaints about the tennis schedule.
If you were in charge of tennis, what is the first rule you would change?
One star name from the past, who was actually inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame just last year, has now spoken out against the ATP in particular.
ATP told they have made a ‘serious mistake’ with their 2026 schedule
Vijay Amritraj likely shares this sentiment for both tours, but as a male player, he has focused his frustration solely on the ATP.
Speaking with Ubitennis, he argued that they have made a grave error ahead of the 2026 season, which will not help them solve their main issue.
Instead, it could actually detract from tennis’ worldwide appeal.
Amritraj argued: “No other ATP 500s are needed in Asia right now; the 250s are needed.
“It is these tournaments that allow tennis to remain a truly global sport. If someone wants to invest more, that’s fine, but not sacrificing entire regions. Reducing 250 tournaments is a serious mistake; both South America, Africa and Asia must have events.”
The ATP is slowly planning on culling many ATP 250-level events over the coming years, aiming to reduce the number played from 38 to 29.
Is some of the tennis schedule irrelevant?
This is to make space for the new Saudi Masters 1000 event, as well as supposedly prioritising player wellbeing whilst optimising the calendar.
The ATP and WTA need to add more tournaments rather than take them away
Amritraj’s point is one easily justified, given just how poorly the distribution of tournaments is across the continents.
Naturally, Europe sits comfortably atop the list with 32 different events, with North America still quite far behind on 12.
However, after these two, the drop-off is remarkable.
This feels like a huge missed opportunity for the ATP and WTA Tours, who are deliberately ignoring crucial markets that could help the sport grow.
| Continent | ATP Tournaments on the 2026 Calendar (Including Grand Slams, the Laver Cup and the Davis Cup Finals) |
| Europe | 32 |
| North America | 12 |
| South America | 3 |
| Asia | 9 |
| Africa | 1 |
| Oceania | 5 |
The lack of events in South America and Asia, in particular, is startling, given the huge popularity of young stars from there like Joao Fonseca and Alexandra Eala.
Whilst it’s understandable that they want to streamline the tour, they should arguably be adding more tournaments across the world to expand the sport’s reach, rather than taking them away for one extra Masters 1000 event in Saudi Arabia.
