Former world No. 8 Diego Schwartzman has criticized the ATP tour's scheduling as chaotic and unorganized. In an interview with Clay, the retired Argentine player called for a major overhaul modeled on other sports. He argued that even television viewers struggle to follow tournaments and their points systems.
Diego Schwartzman, who retired in 2024 and now works with Tennis Australia, described the current ATP calendar as the biggest issue in tennis. “Right now it’s crazy — even people watching on TV don’t know which tournament they’re watching or how many points each one offers. It needs to be organised somehow,” he told Clay. Schwartzman proposed a structured tour focused on elite events like Grand Slams and Masters 1000s, accessible on a single channel or app, drawing inspiration from Formula 1, golf, and the NBA. He advocated for a shorter calendar prioritizing those events over lower-tier tournaments. The ATP has made some adjustments, reducing mandatory events for top-30 players to four Grand Slams, nine Masters 1000s, the ATP Finals if qualified, and four ATP 500s—down from five. Ranking calculations now use 18 tournaments instead of 19, with ATP 250 events cut from 38 to 29. Further reductions are planned by 2028 alongside a new Masters 1000 in Saudi Arabia. Other players echo these concerns. Stefanos Tsitsipas called the two-week Masters 1000 format a “backwards move” that drops performance quality due to insufficient recovery time. Andy Roddick, on his podcast, said top players like Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner suffer from the grueling schedule, with fans also paying the price. Alcaraz skipped the Shanghai Masters last year for injury recovery, while Sinner retired mid-match there amid tough conditions. ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi supports a longer off-season for better preparation, and merger talks with the WTA continue amid calls for more rest to curb injuries.