More days of competition, more tickets sold, more broadcast time, more money.
For tournament organizers, the extension of the tournaments in Madrid and Rome – from eight days to almost two weeks – seems to be an ace.
For the players? It sometimes seems like a double fault.
When the tournaments in Madrid and Rome followed in the footsteps of those in Indian Wells and Miami by stretching over almost two weeks, several of the best players in the world — those who regularly reach the latter rounds of these tournaments — complained about the greater number of days spent abroad.
“You have to be a superhero to show consistency for two 10-day tournaments in a row and make it to the final rounds,” said recent Monte Carlo winner Stefanos Tsitsipas during the Rome tournament.
What annoys the best players is the fact that these Masters 1000 level tournaments are modeled like Grand Slam tournaments, but do not have the same prestige as Wimbledon and the Australian, French and United States Opens.
In reality, the Madrid and Rome tournaments are preparatory tournaments for Roland-Garros.
“We wanted a bigger show, but it became a little too big, like a TV series that ends up with a few seasons too many,” said Victoria Azarenka, former world No. 1. I hope there will be adjustments, because it’s too long. »
Next year, the Cincinnati Open and the National Bank Open — two preparatory tournaments for the United States Open — will also change format and take place over more than one week since they will welcome more players.
“People want to see the best playing against the best every week. There’s a market for it. But you also have to take care of the players,” Azarenka said.
The 32 seeds have a first-round bye under the new format and all players have time off between their matches — something that didn’t happen in the old format.
“The Masters 1000 over two weeks is good for players ranked between 50e and the 100e world level because they have the chance to find themselves in the main draw of a Masters 1000. It’s not great for the members of the top-10,” said Alexander Zverev, ranked fifth.
“Yes, there is a day off between your matches, you don’t have to play every day. But it’s not rest. Rest is when you can spend time at home, in your own bed, with your family, your dog or your children. […] A day between two matches when you are abroad is not a rest. If you hope to reach the semi-finals or finals of every tournament, you’re simply going to spend more time at work than at home. »
The calendar has also been brought back into focus due to injuries suffered by two of the young men’s stars, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, although these injuries are not necessarily linked to the longer tournaments.
Sinner (hip) and Alcaraz (right forearm) withdrew from Rome.
“I like this two-week format,” said Daniil Medvedev, ranked fourth in the world. I like it when there is a day off.
“I don’t believe this format will lead to an increase in injuries,” he added.
“At the end of the day, players want to make money. Tournament organizers want to make money. It becomes a circle where everything comes together. We must accept this role,” concluded Rafael Nadal, holder of 22 career Grand Slam titles.