Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev sound the alarm

Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz are not fans of the long schedule of the tennis season. The German is talking about a “money issue”, while the Spaniard is expecting many withdrawals due to injuries in the future.

Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev played together last weekend at the Laver Cup

QUESTION

Alexander Zverev has issued a scathing criticism of the tournament’s busy schedule. “We have the longest season in sports. It’s long overdue. There is no time to rest. There is no time to prepare the body and build muscles,” said the 27-year-old German at the Laver Cup in Berlin last weekend. The latter therefore criticized the men’s professional tennis body: “The ATP is not interested in our opinion. It’s a money issue.”

For most professional players, the season starts just after Christmas with the United Cup in Australia and sometimes leads to the Davis Cup finals at the end of November. “We come back from vacation and start training tennis immediately because we have to play in Australia two or three weeks later,” he said to worldwide lament.

The topic of workload is also currently being discussed in football, after Manchester City’s Rodri started the debate and did not rule out strike action. “We have no right to strike. We will be fined if we don’t play the tournaments,” Zverev said.

“This Will Kill Us”

In addition to the four Grand Slam tournaments, the Masters 1000 are mandatory events for players. For Zverev, playing fewer tournaments is not an option. “If you’re an ambitious young person who feels like you haven’t achieved everything yet, that’s not an option. The cycle then continues without you,” he said.

Carlos Alcaraz, this season’s winner of Roland-Garros and Wimbledon, made similar comments. “I’m one of those players who has too many mandatory tournaments every year. And there will probably be even more in the years to come. This will kill us,” said the Spaniard in Berlin. The 21-year-old predicted even more injuries in the future: “One day, many good players will miss a lot of tournaments because they have to think about their body.

Despite a high workload, Zverev and Alcaraz ensured the victory of the “European” team at the Laver Cup. In Berlin, the team led by Björn Borg ended up winning the tournament on Sunday at the end of the suspense (13-11) against the “World” team.

In the last two singles, Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz turned the tide. The decision fell only in the last match, won by the four-time Grand Slam winner against Taylor Fritz (6-2 7-5).