Tim Henman shares the rule change he wants in tennis after F1 comparisons

He added: “It doesn’t provide a clear narrative for the fan. For me, the idea at the highest level of certain weeks where there isn’t tennis. It’s a good thing for everybody.

“It gives the players an opportunity to rest, it gives the fans the chance to build the excitement about the next tournament on the calendar.”

While F1 might not be everyone’s go-to example for scheduling, Henman likes how its structure allows for more breathing room between events.

“I’m not a massive F1 fan,” he continued, “but it’s pretty easy to follow. Every couple of weeks there’s a race and there are 20 something races and you add up those points, but you’ve got gaps in between.”

Tennis has great building blocks already in place with its four Grand Slams and Masters events, but Henman feels that adjusting their length could make life easier for players.

“You’ve got great assets in this sport ––the four Grand Slams, the Masters events ––they are good concepts to get the best players,” he continued.

“I don’t agree with them being 12 days long. They should be shorter and when you package that together it becomes much easier for players to compete at their highest level while also having time to recover.”

Gaudenzi outlines changes he hopes to make

ATP president Andrea Gaudenzi has spoken about the ongoing schedule issues and outlined a potential rule change he’d like to see introduced. In an interview with Jonathan Overend for Sky Sports, Gaudenzi explained:

“It’s a very challenging problem to find a solution for all the parties coming together. I have sympathy for them, saying why don’t you get together, design a better calendar, and all come together. I’m trying; that’s been the core of my one vision plan, which is basically to unite the four Grand Slams, the ATP, the WTA, and the ITF.”

The structure of tennis is fragmented. Each organisation operates under its own governance system, which makes it difficult to bring about major reforms.

Gaudenzi continued: “I think we need one governor and one commercial entity to market the sport. I believe in it. I don’t think it’s going to be easy.

“We’ve done great progress. We’re progressing well with WTA ventures.” He added: “I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, but I wake up every morning trying to achieve it. It’s in everyone’s interest to grow the sport. “If you look at every metric, every analysis if tennis were together you would drive value up.”