Draper on the calendar: "Players must act and stop talking about it all the time"
Injured and sidelined from competition until 2026, Jack Draper did not mince his words. Faced with criticism of the ATP calendar and the incessant complaints from players, the young British prodigy sent a message: enough talk, it's time to act.
The debate on the global tennis calendar continues to divide. With the Masters 1000 now spread over two weeks and the shocking announcement of a new tournament in Saudi Arabia starting in 2028, the ATP tour seems to be bogged down in a complexity that even the players struggle to digest.
Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, and Casper Ruud have already expressed their weariness with a season deemed "inhumane," too dense, too long. And in this wave of criticism, the British player decided to raise his voice.
On "The Tennis Podcast," the Brit, currently in recovery, stated the following:
"You think we are privileged, and I completely understand that. We earn a lot of money and we do a job we love, but can this sport be improved? Yes, it's possible.
I think now it's up to the players to stop talking about it all the time and to act, to talk about it openly, to discuss it, to discuss it with the ATP CEO and the organizations, and to find concrete solutions."
As the 2025 season draws to a close, one thing is certain: Jack Draper's words will not go unnoticed.
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First of all, very few players make a lot of money from tennis. Most struggle to keep out of debt. He seems to not care about that.
Second, where were you when Novak attended zillions of meetings with the ATP, giving of his time away from practice, focus on matches and family, to fight for players rights? Of course, you were busy dragging Novak's name through the mud for not being vaccinated.
Third, most players don't make it far in a lot of tournaments. 99% of players want more events.