Italian Open 2024: Semifinalist Alexander Zverev, Top Players Complain About Long Tight Schedule of Masters Events

The best tennis players in the world gather in Southern Europe to play at the Madrid Open and the Italian Open in back-to-back weeks from April to May.

While tennis fans celebrate the arrival of the top players, the players themselves are not sold on the idea of playing so many games with minimal rest.

Men’s Single’s no. 5 Alexander Zverev, who is set to meet Alejandro Tabilo in the semis, is complaining that they have to play matches almost every day and the need to travel over a short period of time to another country or state.

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“Yes, you do get told you have a day in between, you don’t have to play every day,” he said.

“At the end of the day that’s not resting. Resting is when you’re spending time at home, when you’re sleeping in your own bed, maybe with your family, maybe with your dogs, maybe with your kids if you have kids, right?”

Zverev added that the long traveling hours take a toll for players like them who want to be at their best in every match they participate in.

“A day between matches, if you’re at a different place, that’s not resting,” he explained.

“If you’re trying to make semifinals or finals of every event, you’re just away a lot longer, and you have to work a lot more.”

The Madrid Open 2024 took place from April 23 to May 5 and was followed up by the Rome tournament which started on May and will end by May 19.

Before these two events, players were also at the Indian Wells Open (March 6-17) and had two days off before flying to Florida for the Miami Open that started on March 19.

Victoria Azarenka rues drama without reward

The Madrid Open and Italian Open are Masters events, lesser than the Grand Slam competitions.

Some top players only consider them as warm up for the French Open 2024 which is the second Grand Slam of the year.

Among those who explicitly used the Rome Open as a training ground was tennis GOAT candidate Novak Djokovic who bowed out of the Rome event in the third round.

The treatment of Masters events are lesser but the level of competition is just as tough.

This is why Italian Open 2024 Women’s Singles quarterfinalist Victoria Azarenka thinks changes must be introduced to better protect the players.

“People want to watch top players play against each other, week in and week out. … There is a market for that, but there has to be a thought to make sure we do take care of our players,” she said.

Azarenka and other players for now can only complain as the French Open is set to start on May 26. 

Djokovic and Iga Świątek will try to defend their titles in Men’s Singles and Women’s Singles, respectively.

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