How Jack Draper’s decision to skip two tournaments proves that Carlos Alcaraz was right

Carlos Alcaraz predicted that players would need to start missing tournaments to protect their health

Alcaraz’s comments came during an interview with Punto de Break in September 2024, where he reflected on a season that saw him manage a heavier match load and deal with his first significant injury.

He said: “It has been a tough season, I have played fewer tournaments than other players, but many matches.

“I have experienced new things like being injured and coming back to the circuit afterwards.

“The season’s become long physically and mentally, and these tournaments help me feel like myself on the court again. There are few commitments left until the end of the year, but I am very eager to gradually feel better.

“Many believe that this is a good calendar, but others think there are too many mandatory tournaments and there will probably be years with even more.

“In a way, they are killing us.

“Right now, there are many players injured due to the calendar and other factors, but at some point, there will be players who will have to skip tournaments because they have to take care of their bodies, families, and other aspects of life besides tennis.”

The absence of Draper adds another layer to an already busy schedule discussion. With injuries starting to stack up ahead of major events like Toronto and Cincinnati in 2025-26, it is becoming harder for organisers to ignore concerns over player workload.

Should players look at their own calendars before they criticise the ATP?

It’s difficult to criticise the ATP schedule without acknowledging that many of the decisions players make are entirely up to them.

Andrea Gaudenzi, the Executive Chairman of the ATP Tour, addressed these concerns in an interview with French outlet L’Equipe in December 2024.

“It’s not like football or basketball where they are employed by a club. Our players are self-employed and can decide their schedule.

“Yes, there is the ranking that makes them have to play, but it depends mainly on the big tournaments, the Grand Slams, Masters 1000 and Finals. We decided to strengthen them. In this new format, if you go to the final you only play one more game compared to the old one.”

“In addition, players choose to play many exhibitions outside of the circuit. We don’t see that in other sports. The question is whether you want to invest in our circuit or outside.”

“Reduce? Yes but it will then be necessary to reduce 250 tournaments. Afterwards, players can also decide to do fewer exhibitions and spend more time at home resting.”

The Spaniard was warned before this year’s Australian Open not to enter any more exhibition matches due to his chances of entering history by completing a career Grand Slam. In 2024, his schedule included several exhibition tournaments.

Dan Evans’ views on the ATP Tour calendar

Former British number one Dan Evans has also spoken out against complaints about the busy tennis calendar.

In an interview with BBC Sport during the 2025 Queen’s Club Championships, Evans said: “I think first and foremost we’re in a fortunate position.

“When I hear about the schedule [complaints], these guys don’t have to play every week. You are allowed to not play. The reason they play is so they pick up their bonus pool.

“We’ve got to be careful moaning about it, we have a lot of work, which is good. There’s lots of people in the world struggling for work, so we have to be careful harping on about the tough schedule.

“We are allowed to take weeks off, we are independent contractors, so that’s where I stand on it.”

The discussion came up again after his win over Frances Tiafoe in London. He said: “Everybody is entitled to their opinion on the schedule, but the tour has been like that for however many years.

“The top, top guys schedule properly and that’s what part of the issue is how people schedule how many weeks they want to play and how many weeks they don’t want to play.

“Me personally, I see the weeks before Grand Slams are way stronger than they were maybe ten years ago. There are more top players playing. I don’t know if that’s to try and pick up cheap points or whatnot but there are these massive teams now.

“They are allowed input into it. There are loads of weeks in the year you can take off or train or whatnot. That’s up to them.

“Anybody outside the top 15 doesn’t have those views because anybody outside needs working opportunities. If you’re at 60 in the world with more than two people on your staff each week, you need money.

“So you can’t just not have tournaments every week. They need tournaments. That’s it. Can’t just listen to the top guys on scheduling. Just because they are better than us at tennis doesn’t mean their voice is louder to talk.

“That’s what I’ll say. I’m more than happy to have the conversation with whoever wants it.”