Alcaraz and Zverev sharply criticise ATP: “This 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.

Tennis star Alexander Zverev has heavily criticized the packed tournament calendar. “We have the longest season in sport. It is unnecessarily long. There is no time to rest. There is no time to prepare the body and build muscle,” said Zverev at the Laver Cup in Berlin and accused the men’s professional organization ATP: “The ATP is not interested in our opinion. It’s a money business.”

For most professionals, the season begins right after Christmas with the United Cup in Australia and 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,” the world number two complained.

The issue of stress is also being discussed in football right now, after Manchester City’s Rodri initiated the debate and even did not rule out a strike. “We are not allowed to strike. We will be fined if we do not play the tournaments,” said Zverev.

“This will kill us”

In addition to the four Grand Slam tournaments, the Masters 1000 events have been confirmed for the players. “For him, playing fewer tournaments is not an option,” said Zverev (27). “If you are an ambitious young person who feels like you have not yet achieved everything, that is not an option.” The tour will then continue without you.”

French Open and Wimbledon winner Carlos Alcaraz expressed himself similarly. “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 coming 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, many good players will miss a lot of tournaments because they have to think about their bodies.”

Despite the high workload, Zverev and Alcaraz secured victory for Team Europe at the Laver Cup. In Berlin, the Europeans won the continental team tennis competition in dramatic fashion 13:11 against Team World.

In the last two singles, Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz turned the tide. The decision was only made in the last game, which Alcaraz won against Taylor Fritz 6:2, 7:5.

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