Carlos Alcaraz has been pretty outspoken about his dissatisfaction with the gruelling nature of the ATP Tour in 2026.
Alcaraz was forced out for four and a half months after suffering a wrist injury at the Barcelona Open, and he’s since suggested he will play a more limited schedule on the ATP Tour.
Things heated up even more between Alcaraz and the ATP Tour at the Shanghai Masters, when the Spaniard called them out in the wake of Jannik Sinner ending his season early.
“One of the reasons we had to see the players who are getting injured, they [ATP officials] are pushing us too much out of the line sometimes to play a lot of tournaments, to play a lot of matches,” said Alcaraz.
“It’s getting in the wrong direction. I just wish Jannik the best for these months, just to be in good shape for the next season,” he continued.
Now, Zverev has largely agreed with Alcaraz’s sentiments about the ATP Tour and even suggested a solution to help the authorities solve the issue.
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Speaking at the Vienna Open, the German said: “I think the solution is relatively simple. I’ve said it several times: We should shorten the season by two or three weeks to give our bodies more time to rest and recover.
“This year, if I play the Davis Cup, we’ll practically be competing until December. And if I had played in the United Cup, I would have had to play my first match at the end of December. I’m not going to play in the United Cup because it’s simply impossible for me.
“If I go on vacation, I can’t fly directly from there to Australia. At some point, none of this makes sense anymore. I’ve been saying the same thing for ten years, and nothing changes.”
Zverev has played more matches than anyone else on the ATP Tour. His victory against Arthur Fery in the quarterfinals of the Vienna Open was the 75th match of his season so far.
He is still expected to play the Paris Masters, the ATP Finals, and the Davis Cup, so his season will not be finished until the end of November.
He’s also signed up to play the Six Kings Slam between December 27th and 30th, after the Saudi Arabia tournament was delayed from October.
That means Zverev will only have 27 days off before he is set to return to tennis. With an appearance coming up at the 2027 Brisbane International, beginning on January 3rd, the German could soon reach breaking point.
It’s completely understandable why Zverev would want a longer off-season and it will surely not be long before the ATP Tour announcing a change to the schedule.
