Tsitsipas Blasts ATP Calendar: 'Playing Indian Wells and Miami Back-to-Back Is Inhumane'
Stefanos Tsitsipas, recently eliminated in the second round in Rotterdam, discussed his career and the professional tour on the podcast What's The Call.
The Greek, a two-time Grand Slam finalist, complained about the lack of increase in prize money on the ATP Tour, while players must string together tournaments and play extended Masters 1000 events.
"There has been no real evolution regarding prize money"
"The most frustrating thing in all this is that we're made to play more, and that, why not. Let's play more, fine, but at least let the prize money increase.
In the past, during a meeting with the ATP president, promises were made to me. He talked to me about the 'One Vision' project and everything seemed coherent.
But since then, there has been no real evolution regarding prize money and player compensation, while we're asked to play more. I understand that all this is done to sell more tickets, and there are obviously many reasons behind these decisions.
But it also leads to much more fatigue and injuries among players, and I don't think it's a coincidence that 2025 has been the year with the most withdrawals on the ATP Tour."
"Playing Indian Wells and Miami back-to-back is inhumane"
"Fatigue is a huge factor. To play well, you need to be fresh. Playing Indian Wells and Miami back-to-back is simply inhumane. Monte-Carlo allows things to rebalance a bit, because it's a one-week Masters 1000: everyone is happy, everyone can focus for a week, and that's largely sufficient.
I'm not saying these Masters 1000s must absolutely return to a seven-day format, but at least a middle ground needs to be found. We can exceed the usual format, but within reasonable limits. Here, they've gone way too far."
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