Carlos Alcaraz Reiterates ATP Must Change Hectic Calendar to Give Players More Rest: 'They Have to Do Something'

Carlos Alcaraz is in Paris, gearing up for the last Masters 1000 of the season. Before Paris, Alcaraz was in Riyadh for the Six Kings Slam, where Jannik Sinner once again beat him in the final and took home $6 million.

Because of his participation in exhibition events, Alcaraz is being called out by those advocating for a long tennis calendar. The ATP calendar starts late in December and ends in November, with those complaining about the calendar, including Alcaraz, saying it doesn’t give them much time to rest as well as prepare between tournaments.

Players can skip tournaments, but due to the fear of losing ranking points by skipping mandatory events, they end up signing up for them. Alcaraz himself suffered an injury during his debut match at the Japan Open, with some giving the entire blame for his injury to the calendar.

The Spaniard has time and again condemned the calendar, even claiming last year that it’s eventually going to “kill” players. At the pre-tournament press conference in Paris, the six-time Grand Slam champion doubled down on his complaints.

Well, I don’t have an exact amount of matches that we should play. I mean, I can’t answer with an exact number. But obviously, they have to do something with the calendar. The amount of tournaments that we have to play, I think, is too high. We don’t have such, you know, good period of time that we can practice, we can rest.

Alcaraz will lock horns with Cameron Norrie or Sebastian Baez in the second round to get his campaign in Paris underway. He holds a 5-2 head-to-head lead over the Brit, while against the Argentine, Alcaraz did not lose in the three matches they previously played against each other.

Even during the season, I think it’s week after week after week, and we don’t have the chance to have a week just to prepare pretty well the tournaments or what we have ahead in the season. But, you know, I will think about the amount of matches that we should play, and I’m gonna comment later.

Carlos Alcaraz added

The Paris Masters is one of the three Masters 1000 events that Alcaraz has yet to win. Apart from Paris, he has yet to taste success at the Canadian Open and the Shanghai Masters.

Carlos Alcaraz on the Paris Masters surface

After making his debut at the 2021 Paris Masters, Carlos Alcaraz featured in the event every season, but not once could he progress beyond the quarterfinals. His best performance was a lone quarterfinal appearance in 2022. After his practice session in Paris, the eight-time Masters 1000 champion assessed the speed of the court.