“They only complain to the media”

Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek and other high-profile names in tennis who have repeatedly criticized the tennis calendar were recently dismissed, albeit indirectly, by Marcos Baghdatis, the Greek Cypriot former ATP star who reached a career-high ranking of world No. 8 during his playing days. Although Baghdatis partially agreed with critics of the calendar, he laid bare his frustrations with their frequent complaints.

The 2006 Australian Open runner-up believes the concerns of Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek and others about physical injuries and mental and emotional exhaustion are legitimate given the annual tennis schedule, which is widely regarded as one of the most demanding of all professional sports. talking with Tennis365the four-time singles champion said:

“Listen, yeah, I really think (the schedule) is a problem. I think it’s been a problem for a long time.”

Later in the interview, Marcos Baghdatis cast his mind back to his own playing days and recalled how a player-focused association like the Novak Djokovic-led PTPA was missing in tennis at the time.

“You know, in our day, we didn’t have this association, so we could have complained as much as we wanted, nobody listened to us,” said the Greek Cypriot.

Instantly the reigning world number 1 Carlos Alcaraznumber 2 in the WTA Iga Swiatek and other critics of the tennis calendar to work with the PTPA and do everything in their power to make the necessary changes to the calendar, the 40-year-old added:

“But right now they do. And to me, that’s where I don’t understand the players. They have an association that some of the players created, like Novak Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil, and they have everything they need to be able to go and negotiate with the tours and the tournaments. But they don’t, and that’s just a bit of a complaint to me through the media.”

‘It’s in your hands’ – Marcos Baghdatis indirectly urges Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek and others to use their positions of power and influence in tennis to improve the schedule

Baghdatis concluded his detailed look at the issue by telling players like Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek and others who have repeatedly questioned the tennis calendar to take matters into their own hands. According to the Greek Cypriot, the tours and Majors will do very little to change the existing calendar.

“For me, yeah, that’s where, whenever a player complains, I say, OK, you can change things, guys. I mean, it’s in your hands. It’s not in the hands of the tours or the tournaments, it’s in your hands. So why don’t you do it?” said the 40-year-old.

For men’s tennis in particular, things are likely to get even more demanding in the coming years. Most likely from 2028, a a new annual Masters 1000 event will begin in Saudi Arabiathat too in the early part of the tennis season.