‘Novak Djokovic has a point,’ says ATP rival over scheduling debate
The issue of scheduling in tennis remains a hot topic with Casper Ruud once again highlighting the “really, really long season” – and he agrees with Novak Djokovic’s criticism of top players.
Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek have voiced their unhappiness over the demanding ATP and WTA Tour calendars several times over the past year, while Ruud also expressed his concerns after his early exit from this year’s French Open.
Although tennis great Djokovic agrees that there are too many tournaments, he recently took aim at the top players for not being “united enough” to enforce change from the two tours.
The 24-time Grand Slam winner stated: “As a player and someone that has been playing on the highest level for more than 20 years, I can say that the players are not united enough.
“Players are not participating enough when they should be. So they make the comments and they complain, and then they go away. And then if something is wrong, after a certain amount of time they come back again.”
Players are required to play a certain number of mandatory tournaments every year and if they don’t, they face penalties in terms of fines and points deductions from the ATP and WTA Rankings.
Djokovic says it is up to individuals to look after themselves, adding: “But you have to invest the time, you have to invest energy yourself, not your agent, not your team, not your parents, not anybody, yourself, to dedicate yourself to understand how the system works, to understand what are the things that can be done to be reversed, to be improved in terms of the players’ interest.”
ATP Interviews
Ruud, who was pretty vocal about the schedule at Roland Garros this year, says there is merit to Djokovic’s comments.
“Of course, Novak has a point,” he told Bolavip. “He has more experience than any other player. Sure, you can pick and choose in a way, because we are not hired by the ATP, we are bosses of our own schedule.
“What I criticised and talked about at the French Open was that there is an economic motivation to play and not skip any Masters 1000s with the bonus and everything.
“But yeah, sure, if you are in the top 10, top 15, you make a lot of money, but you also spend a lot of money with all the expenses that you have, so you don’t want to miss out on any money if you don’t need to.”
What Is The Bonus Pool?
The 30 players who earn the most ATP Rankings points at ATP Masters 1000 events and the ATP Finals this season will share the Bonus Pool of $21 million.
Meanwhile, six players also earn $3m in the ATP 500 Bonus Pool.
Former world No 2 Ruud believes some players compete despite being injured in order to qualify for the extra monetary incentives, but he concedes that he needs to look after himself.
“I know that if you are not healthy or not eligible to play, you won’t be put in jail if you don’t play, but there is also an economic incentive to play, and some people care more about it than others. But I think the season is long,” the Norwegian stated.
“To have a mandatory event like Paris that late in the season makes the season really, really long. It’s the same for everyone, but going forward I will plan the schedule a bit differently, maybe skipping a few events here and there.
“I had a very hectic three to four years since I reached the top 10. I played a lot of events, and I played some exhibitions in the pre-season, so those are some choices that I have made, which I look back on and think I shouldn’t have done. For the future, that is something I will take into consideration.”
