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THE TENNIS CALENDAR HAS COME UNDER FIRE FROM A NUMBER OF STARS IN RECENT MONTHS, WITH THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN IN PARTICULAR IN THE FIRING LINE FOR ITS EARLY START 16:43, 02 Jun 2025 Tennis may
finally be heeding the concerns of its top players regarding the punishing schedule, with talks of shifting the Australian Open to a later date, as per broadcaster and ex-professional
Patrick McEnroe. The gruelling nature of the tennis circuit has been a point of contention for several athletes, including world No 2 Carlos Alcaraz, who have voiced their need for more
downtime. Alcaraz notably cautioned officials last year that the relentless calendar could 'kill' competitors. The gap between the ATP Finals and the commencement of the Australian
Open this January was a scant 49 days. With the tour being a year-long affair and players' earnings tied directly to competition participation and winnings, breaks are scarce.
Addressing the increasing dissatisfaction, McEnroe mentioned "rumblings" about potentially moving the Australian Open to February. This change might create room in January for
another significant event, possibly in the Middle East, reports the Express. During a discussion on TNT Sports, seven-time Grand Slam winner John McEnroe queried: "If they moved the
Australian to later, that would give more time, but they don't want to give that up. The January slot. What do you think, in March?". Article continues below To which brother
Patrick replied: "I'm hearing rumblings that it could move to February." John considered such a move "helpful" and Patrick elaborated: "Of course, there'd
probably be another big tournament put in in early January, that's part of potentially the plan. Middle East, hello?". "It's pretty typical of all sports like in the NBA
you see players taking nights off under contract. In tennis the difference is you don't play you don't get paid. No guaranteed contracts. "Top players have big endorsement
deals but even those normally have stipulations that the players have to play certain events or be ranked at a certain spot to collect the money." Alcaraz, a leading figure in tennis,
has voiced strong objections to the current schedule. In remarks made last September, the Spanish player noted: "As I said many times, you know, the calendar is so tight, a lot of
tournaments, no days off or not as much days off as I want." Article continues below He continued, expressing concern for player welfare: "I'm the kind of player who think
there is a lot of tournaments during the year, mandatory tournaments, and probably during the next few years gonna be even more tournaments, more mandatory tournaments. "So, I mean,
probably they are going to kill us in some way. "Right now they are showing up a lot of injuries because of the ball, because of the calendar, because a lot of things."