"You don't see that in other sports: ATP chief Gaudenzi confronts players about season length complaints

ATP chief Andrea Gaudenzi has hit back at players questioning the length of the season. In the recent past, there has been a lot of criticism about the length of the season as they claimed that the number of matches is taking its toll on the players who are finding it hard to maintain fitness and levels throughout the season.

Those include the likes of world number two Alexander Zverev and Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz. “We do have the longest season in sports,” said the German tennis star. “I mean, I have said it before. It's unnecessarily long. We have unnecessarily, you know, we have unnecessary amount of tournaments."

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“Sometimes, you don't want to go to a tournament. I'm not going to lie,” said Alcaraz. “I have felt this way a few times already. Sometimes I don't feel motivated at all. But as I've said many, many times, I play my best tennis when I smile and enjoy it on court. That's the best option to keep motivating.”

ATP’s chief Gaudenzi has reacted to players who are questioning the length of the season. The 51-year-old believes that players should decide whether they want to play in on-tour events or off-tour events.

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"Some players choose to do a lot of exhibitions off the tour,” he said while talking to French publication L'Equipe. “You don't see that in other sports. The question is whether you want to invest on the tour or off the tour. Shorten the season? OK, but then you have to reduce the number of ATP 250 tournaments. Players can also decide to play fewer exhibitions and spend more time resting. Yes, the ranking forces them to play, but it depends mainly on the most important tournaments. We decided to reinforce the Masters 1000 (some moved to two weeks), but that only means one more match if you reach the final . Our players are independent workers and can decide their own schedule.”