Alexander Zverev has called for an “an easy fix” to be implemented at Masters 1000 tournaments as he addressed the high number of players who have withdrawn from Canada and Cincinnati.
A total of 16 players — eight men and eight women — pulled out of the Canadian before main draw play got underway, while 14 players have withdrawn from the Cincinnati Open, which will begin tomorrow
Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Karolina Muchova, Victoria Mboko, Jasmine Paolini and Emma Raducanu are some of the high-profile stars to miss both events, while Novak Djokovic skipped Canada.
In 2023, the ATP Tour extended the Masters 1000 events in Madrid, Rome and Shanghai to two weeks (12 days) and increased the number of players in the singles draws to 96.
The same expansion was applied to tournaments in Indian Wells, Miami and Shanghai in 2024, while it was introduced in Canada and Cincinnati starting with the 2025 editions.
Prior to the changes, seven of the nine Masters tournaments were played over a single week and featured 56-player singles draws, with Indian Wells and Miami each lasting 10 days.
Zverev is one of a host of big name players who have criticised the extended Masters 1000 format.
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In his pre-tournament press conference in Cincinnati, Zverev was asked if players are under pressure to prioritise Canada or Cincinnati.
“I think that’s what two-week events do, unfortunately, if there is a Slam coming after that,” replied the 29-year-old.
“If you play everything and you’re a top player, you spend seven weeks here in North America. That is quite a long time.
“And I think that’s why a lot of top players, they choose not to play Canada for multiple years now. That’s unfortunately the sad reality of it.”
Asked how this issue can be fixed, Zverev replied: “How it always was. Quite simple.
“Make us be here for two weeks, not seven. For the Masters, it’s two weeks for both of them, and I think that’s an easy fix, regarding top players playing.”
Zverev was also asked if players would be willing to earn less money if Masters tournaments reverted to the traditional one-week format.
The French Open champion questioned whether the longer Masters events have led to an increase in prize money as he compared what he earned for his Rome titles in 2017 and 2024.
“It’s an interesting question, you know why? Because we’ve had this conversation,” said Zverev. “And the money that tournaments are spending is obviously more because there’s more [players in the] first round that you have to pay.
“But actually if you win the tournament, I can compare because I won the Rome Masters back in 2017, and I think I got close to a million euros back then.
“And then I won it seven years later, 2024, I got 900 grand, so actually, I got less money for winning the same tournament seven years later than I did seven years prior.
“So I don’t think it’s less money if you win, necessarily, if the weeks are shorter.”
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