Patrick Mouratoglou joins Andy Roddick and Stefanos Tsitsipas with a passionate verdict on a big talking point
The tennis community are calling for change after one of the big changes to the sport over the last couple of years has backfired – but those with the power to make give them what they want are unlikely to respond.
Elite male and female players, pundits, ex-players and leading coaches are all calling for changes to the tennis schedule, with persistent warnings over the health and well- being of players being constantly raised.
Yet instead of trimming the days top players will be expected to be on court in 2025, the number is rising.
Former world No 1 Andy Roddick and two-time Grand Slam finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas are the latest names to join a long list calling for a shift in how major tournaments are organised, with the contentious move to turn ATP Masters 1000 events into extended tournaments a major talking point.
ATP Masters tournaments have traditionally been played over a single week, with last week’s Paris Masters following that format and serving up packed schedules featuring thrilling matches.
The extended Maters 1000 events see players on-site at venues for over two weeks and it restricts their time for practice as they tend to be in tournament mode, with Roddick insisting no one has enjoyed the revamped format.
“The two-week 1000s are so stupid, they are so dumb. They are the worst,” said Roddick on his Served podcast. “I feel like more people got injured. You can do the work in the off-season to build your body up physically if you are playing every other day.
“The players are saying this. Maybe you shouldn’t have committed the calendar to a long-term vision of something that is not proven.”
Tsitsipas backed up Roddick’s comments with a pointed message to the ATP Tour.
“The two-week Masters 1000s have turned into a drag,” wrote the Greek star on X. “The quality has definitely dropped. Players aren’t getting the recovery or training time they need, with constant matches and no space for the intense work off the court.
“It’s ironic that the ATP Tour committed to this format without knowing if it could actually improve the schedule, but the quality likewise. Paris got it right, done in a week. Exciting and easy to follow. Just how it’s supposed to be.
“If the goal was to ease the calendar, extending every 1000 to two weeks is a backwards move. Sometimes, it feels like they’re fixing what wasn’t broken.”
Now Patrick Mouratoglou has given Tennis365 his verdict on the extended ATP Masters events, as he suggests finances are at the heart of the decision.
Mouratoglou, who famously coached Serena Williams during her dominant period at the top of women’s tennis and is currently working with four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, told us the financial boost to extending Masters 1000 events may have been a key reason for the decision.
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“The longer Masters tournament work because they make much more money, so it’s good for them,” Mouratoglou told Tennis365 ahead of the UTS Grand Final in London next month.
“I think if I understand what the ATP wants to do, they want to have fewer events, but bigger events that draw more attention. I think it makes sense, to be honest.
“That is difficult for the people who have smaller tournaments, the tournament directors and I understand that, and I understand their frustration, but it’s always the same. It depends on the way you look at it.
“If you look at the interest of players, you have one point of view. If you look at the interest of the bigger tournaments and the global business of tennis, you have a different angle.”
“If you look at the fans, we have another angle. We look only at the fans when we look at our UTS events. That’s all our purpose. UTS have been created only for the fans and only to give them the best possible entertainment.
“I think that the ATP for them is difficult because they have a lot, inside the ATP, a lot of different interests, and the tournament directors, you have the players, and all have a big voice.
“So to make these decisions is not easy, because you need to please everyone. And at the end of the day, the fans might not be heard because they are not represented.”
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