Carlos Alcaraz has issued his disatisfaction with the ATP Tour schedule while at the Shanghai Masters.
Jannik Sinner deciding to end his season early appeared to be the final straw for the Spaniard, and he produced a scathing attack on the authorities while at the Masters event.
“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.
“It’s getting in the wrong direction,” continued the world No 3. “I just wish Jannik the best for these months, just to be in good shape for the next season.”
That isn’t all Alcaraz has done to protest at the Shanghai Masters either, according to The Tennis Podcast’s Catherine Whittaker.
More Carlos Alcaraz news
“I think this issue he has with the ATP and the 1000 events I think this runs pretty deep. I think it’s more than throwing in some quotes and press conferences and interviews I believe he’s doing some sort of low-key protests behind the scenes,” said Whittaker.
“I think he’s abstaining from doing ATP marketing at the moment. He’s pretty serious about this and I think that will be affecting him at ATP Masters 1000 events.”
Whittaker also believes Alcaraz has already found his sweet spot when it comes to what tournaments he wants to be playing on the ATP Tour.
“I think we’ve got a slightly odd situation where 500 event level is kind of the sweet spot for Carlos Alcaraz because they it’s a big enough dollop of points, they have decent fields, appearance fees, and you get treated like a king to be there because you don’t have to be there,” she said.
“1,000 [events] you’re required to be there and you’re made to hang around for two weeks minimum and the whole thing feels like a grind and Carlos Alcaraz needs it to feel fun.”
Alcaraz has struggled at the Masters events he’s played so far this year.
The star has been knocked out of the third round of the Miami Open and the Shanghai Masters. At Indian Wells, the star was beaten in the semifinals by Daniil Medvedev.
The only final he has made at Masters level came at the Monte Carlo Masters, in which he lost in his only 2026 match against Jannik Sinner.
He missed the Madrid Open, the Italian Open, the Canadian Open, and the Cincinnati Open due to the wirst injury he suffered in April of this year.
However, if things continue to worse between Alcaraz and the ATP Tour, expect the star to skip just as many Masters tournaments in the 2027 season.
