Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff and Carlos Alcaraz have all made recent remarks criticising the schedules organised by their respective governing bodies.
Swiatek labelled the schedule ‘overwhelming,’ Gauff said the increase in mandatory WTA 500 events is ‘impossible’ to keep up with, and Alcaraz noted his agreement with Swiatek’s remarks.
This matter has been a regular feature of tennis discourse amid widespread changes to the tennis calendar over the last few years.
Players have seen their recovery periods shortened between tournaments, due to competition expansions and an increase in mandatory events.
Before 2023, all of the ATP Masters events were a week long. Now, seven of the nine have been expanded to 12 days.
Meanwhile, the WTA Tour has increased the number of mandatory WTA Tour events in recent years, from four to 10.
However, players have also received criticism for apparent contradictions regarding their complaints and subsequent entry into exhibition events.
Novak Djokovic, perhaps the most accomplished player tennis fans have ever witnessed, has weighed in on the issue ahead of the Shanghai Masters.
Novak Djokovic says players are not ‘united enough’
Djokovic began by discussing his feelings regarding the extension of Masters 1000 events, reflecting on a long-held stance maintained since the time of his Players Council presidency.
Djokovic was the President of the Players Council from 2016 to 2020.
“Well, I was personally against the extension of the days of duration of the Masters 1000 events, right? I felt from the very beginning I was against it,” the 24-time Grand Slam champion remarked during his pre-tournament press conference.
“Actually, even when I was in the council, I think I was at the time president of the council, so I was not supportive of that. I think for the players it’s not good.
“From one perspective, you could say, I mean, for me at my age right now, to have the days between the tournaments is good.
“But I think overall for most of the players it just takes away the days in the schedule, in the calendar. Personally, I’m not supportive of that.
“I understand that there is upside to the tournaments and so forth, but as a player I never liked that. So I do empathize or sympathize with players who are against that, because now they are realizing, I guess, that it’s not really great.”
However, despite the Serbian star also noted the responsibility players must take for their own decisions, pointing to the ATP bonus pool scheme and the exhibition events some players have been signing up to.
Djokovic continued: “But at the same time, look, you know, you always have, it’s an individual sport, so there are choices to be made.
“In the end of the day you can still make choices. I see some players maybe say there are rules imposed and etcetera. But there are rules imposed for bonus. So you can miss the bonus, but it’s the choice that you are willing to make if you want to play less.
“But then there are exhibitions as well that players are signing up for, so it’s a little bit contradictory.
“Yeah, I guess I’ve been talking about this topic for so many years, you know, this is not first time. People who know me and know my press conferences and my time in the council, they know that more than 15 years ago, I was talking about us needing to come together and reorganize the schedule and the calendar. Even way before the 30-year deal plan came to realisation with Masters events.
“But, you know, it’s a very long topic, so I don’t know where to start, where to finish, to be honest. It’s very complex, it’s not that simple, you know. I don’t want to sound like I’m supportive or not supportive, because there’s different elements that you have to take in consideration.
“The monopoly that has been created in this sport has been very strong for the last, you know, three, four decades. There are people who just don’t want to change things in our sport, you know, for the better, in terms of when it comes to the players’ welfare. You know, because everybody works in their own interest. And that’s logical, I guess, business sense.”
The 38-year-old also identified a problem, claiming that his peers have not been ‘united enough’ for more than two decades, calling on some of the sport’s best players to ‘roll up their sleeves.’
Djokovic continued: “In the end, as a player and someone that has been playing on the highest level for more than 20 years, I can say that the players are not united enough. Players are not participating enough when they should be.
“So they make the comments and they complain, and then they go away. And then if something is wrong, after a certain amount of time they come back again.
“But you have to invest the time, you have to invest energy yourself, not your agent, not your team, not your parents, not anybody, yourself, to dedicate 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 the players’ interest.
“For that to happen you need the top players particularly, you know, to sit down, roll up their sleeves, and really care a bit more about participating in understanding all of the hot topic, I would say.
“Because going out in the media and talking about this and that, okay, it might stir up some energy or some attention. But in the end of the day it’s not going to change, nothing is going to change, you know?
“I know it from my personal experience, trust me. So, yeah, it’s quite a complex topic.”
Will a resolution be achieved?
As Djokovic identified, this is an extremely complex issue, one that may take years to solve.
Undoubtedly, the Tours have become more intense following an increase in events, and this may explain why so many players have suffered injuries in the latter half of 2025.
Tennis fans want to see their favourite players on the court as much as possible, and supporters should not be criticised for having such feelings.
However, tennis is one of the few sports that operates on a near-year-round basis, giving players little room to manoeuvre in terms of rest and recuperation.
If the schedule becomes too ‘packed,’ there will likely be an increase in injuries, forcing players to spend extended periods of their time away from the court.
However, players must also take responsibility for their decision-making. Bemoaning the competitive schedule while also signing up for exhibition events is, as Djokovic stated, contradictory.
The ATP Tour have also recently attempted to ease the burden placed on players, creating a new two-week gap between Wimbledon and the North American hard-court swing.
