Emilio Sanchez Vicario on the overloaded calendar: "It will be difficult to find an arrangement between all parties".
For several months now, one of the major debates in tennis has been the overloading of the calendar, with more and more matches and fewer breaks during the off-season.
More and more exhibitions are being organized throughout the season, but the main players on the circuit have come out in force to denounce the infernal pace imposed by the ATP and WTA, notably Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek.
Former professional player and coach, Emilio Sanchez Vicario, who was also captain of the Spanish Davis Cup team between 2006 and 2008, spoke of the progress that needs to be made in the future to improve these increasingly contested conditions.
"The ATP and the WTA are trying to do things together. Players are complaining about the calendar, especially for the 12-day Masters 1000 events.
In 2025, there will be even more tournaments in this format. For the player with a big career, it will be a lot more stressful, because it's almost a Grand Slam format now.
They'll also have to play some of the other tournament categories, and I think the ATP 250 and 500 will suffer from that.
And it remains to be seen what the top players want to do with these two-week tournaments.
If you lose early, you go more than a week without playing, and if you win, you're already burnt out physically for the next tournament.
Now that we're talking so much about mental health, there's a lot more pressure on the player," he elaborates for Marca.
Sanchez Vicario also spoke of the exhibition matches in which the best players often take part, and the evolution in the number of tournaments.
"In this kind of event, you make a lot of money without getting bored. What's more, the Saudis want a Masters 1000.
In January, there's the Australian Open. In February, there's the Davis Cup, Doha, Dubai and so on. Finding an arrangement between all the parties will be difficult.
Since the 90s, the number of tournaments has grown exponentially, far outstripping the number of players. And for women, the same phenomenon has occurred.
I think that in the next year and a half or two, we'll have to look for solutions for the coming seasons."
