The ATP have come under some rather severe scrutiny over the last year, with more and more players coming out against it.
Naturally, the schedule has been the biggest point of contention, and some of the sport’s biggest stars have made some strong suggestions that continue to make little impact.
Iga Swiatek, Carlos Alcaraz, Jack Draper and Novak Djokovic make up just a small selection to have mobilised across this year alone, and given little seems to be changing, that group is expected to only continue growing.
Fortunately, the ATP are clearly listening, despite the ATP president hitting back at Draper’s schedule complaints just last week.
After all, one decision they have just made regarding the Cincinnati Open marks a step in the right direction – albeit fixing one of their own errors made in 2025.
ATP announce plans to make big change to Cincinnati Open final
2025 was the year of the 12-day Masters 1000 events.
It was an idea spearheaded by the president of the ATP, Andrea Gaudenzi, in an effort to increase prize money and financial opportunities for players and tournaments, whilst also affording extra rest days during the competition.
However, it was a concept not well received, with the Cincinnati Open suffering more than most as its final was pushed to a Monday to accommodate the new schedule.
As such, the summer was skewed, with the Canadian Open’s final coming on the Thursday before, whilst play had already begun in Cincinnati.
It was a mess, but fortunately one that tournament director Bob Moran has been able to fix for 2026, where the final will now return to a Sunday.
He claimed: “We appreciate the ATP and WTA Tours working with us to make this change, which will benefit our attendees, partners, players and global broadcast audience.
“We feel strongly that a Sunday final will deliver the best tournament experience.”
This puts to an end a myriad of complaints about the scheduling of that event, not least by their women’s champion, Swiatek.
What Iga Swiatek said about the Cincinnati Open final date in 2025
Whilst the tennis summer was uncharacteristic and uncomfortable for most, Swiatek actually thrived during this period.
After all, coming off the back of her sensational maiden Wimbledon title, she followed that up by winning the Cincinnati Open title for the first time without dropping a set.
And yet, despite this overwhelming success, even she had a bone to pick with the event.
Forced to rush across the continent straight after the final for her US Open commitments, the Polish superstar admitted it was the “most extreme” schedule turnaround she had ever faced.
Swiatek continued: “I stretched, did ice bath, quick shower, media, and after like one and a half hour after the match, we already went to catch a plane. So that’s it. Yeah, it was pretty fast.”
Fortunately, if she is to defend her title in 2026, she will likely not suffer from that same problem now.
