The ATP Tour have teased scrapping 250 events from their calendar and several high-profile stars have spoken out on the plans.
ATP president Andrea Gaudenzi shared plans to reduce the amount of smaller tournaments on the calendar from 2028.
The plan is reportedly to have just ten weeks of 250 events on the calendar, compared to the traditional 17 weeks which fans have become accustomed to.
In an interview with Clay Tenis, Marin Cilic implored the ATP Tour to think about their decision to scrap 250 events.
Marin Cilic says scrapping ATP 250 events would be ‘sad’
Cilic is testament to just how much ATP 250 events help a player grow and climb the ladder to bigger tournaments.
The Croatian has won 16 ATP 250 events in his career, most of which came before his greatest career when he lifted the 2014 US Open title.
If you were in charge of tennis, what is the first rule you would change?
The Grand Slam winner has slammed reports that they will be diminished in the next few years. He said: “I will feel sad to lose 250’s. I’m a traditional guy, I love the small tournaments.
“When I started my career I went from Satellites, Futures, then to Challengers, and then 250’s. Everything has its own piece of flair.
“It’s a big question, a big debate, a huge decision about where the tour is going… we’ll see what they say.”
Cilic is not the only tennis personality to suggest the ATP Tour’s new scheduling plan is a bad idea, with several legends also speaking against scrapping 250s.
Toni Nadal and Yevgeny Kafelnikov defend ATP 250 events
In another interview with Clay, multi-time Grand Slam champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov defended ATP 250 events.
“You’re trying to create this absurd tour where nobody has the chance to break through. The 250 tournaments are necessary: they help develop young players and promote tennis globally,” he said.
What is your bold prediction for the 2026 tennis season?
“Are you going to get rid of tournaments that have sustained and promoted the Tour for forty years just because Saudi Arabia offers more money? If we keep going down this path, I honestly don’t know what’s going to happen to tennis in the future.”
Additionally, Toni Nadal also suggested scrapping 250 events could be disastrous for the lower-ranked players.
“We’ve entered a world where people no longer place much value on small tournaments. I think that’s a mistake,” he said.
