Jannik Sinner disagrees with Jack Draper and Carlos Alcaraz’s dangerous schedule claims – ‘You don’t have to play’
Jannik Sinner believes there is nothing dangerous about the tennis calendar and has told players to be responsible with their scheduling.
The US Open champion was responding to Carlos Alcaraz and Jack Draper, who have both criticised the number of events on the ATP tour.
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The tennis season includes 12 mandatory events: the four Grand Slams and eight Masters 1000 tournaments.
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They sit alongside a number of lesser-ranked championships, as well as competitions such as the Davis Cup.
And Sinner thinks the onus is on the players to pick and choose when they take to the court, and when they need some time off.
“The schedule is quite long, obviously,” he said. “But we players, we can still choose what to play and what not to play.
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“Obviously we have some mandatory events, yes. As a player, you can still choose. It is a very busy schedule this year, there are a lot of tournaments. You don’t have to play a tournament.”
The tennis calendar lasts for nearly the entire year, starting with the Australian swing in January.
The final event pencilled in for 2024 is the Next Gen ATP Finals, which gets under way on December 16.
British No. 1 Draper last week described the schedule as “mental.”
Sinner, who is currently in Beijing preparing for the China Open, continued: “If you want, you can play. If not, you don’t play.
“For example, last year and also this year, I didn’t play some tournaments because I wanted to practise. There are some choices behind this.”
Sinner is the top seed for the China Open after cementing his World No. 1 status by winning the US Open earlier this month.
He will face Nicolas Jarry in the first round, while Alcaraz has been paired with Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
The tournament gets underway on Thursday, September 26.
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