🔗 Share this article

After Daria Kasatkina concluded her 2025 season early in October, the ex-top ten player detailed how she had "hit a wall."

"The calendar is overwhelming. My mental and emotional state is frayed, and, unfortunately, I'm not alone," she wrote.

Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, a two-time Wimbledon semi-finalist, had previously announced she was not in "the mental space" to persist, while current Grand Slam champions Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz additionally are convinced the calendar is too long.

This subject remains under discussion as the world's foremost tennis players reconvene in Australia for the beginning of the 2026 season.

A marginally increased off-season than 2025 has been received well. Nonetheless, several weeks is not seen as enough time for adequate rest before training starts for an 11-month campaign considered among the most demanding in professional sport.

"Tennis places greater strain on athletes now than it ever has," said Dr. Robby Sikka, chief medical officer at the Professional Tennis Players' Association (PTPA).

"Matches and rallies are longer, players are faster, they're hitting the ball harder.

"We have a duty to safeguard our athletes and give them a more manageable sport."

So what measures are in place and what further steps could be enacted?

Condensing the Tour Schedule

The 2025 season spanned 47 weeks for many players on the ATP circuit, beginning with the United Cup team event in late December 2024 and finishing with the Davis Cup final in late November.

The WTA Tour season concluded two weeks earlier when the WTA Finals finished in early November. The ITF moved the Billie Jean King Cup Finals forward to September to alleviate scheduling concerns.

The men's tour states it does not take the concerns of the players "without seriousness," while the women's tour asserts player welfare will "consistently be the foremost concern."

That did not appease the PTPA, which initiated a lawsuit against the men's and women's tours in March, citing "anti-competitive practices and a blatant disregard for player welfare."

Revamping the calendar is an obvious solution but cannot be accomplished simply given the intricate web of tennis governance, where the four Grand Slams, ATP, WTA, and ITF each have controlling interests.

"We must consider whether we can buy back time at the end of the year for an longer break, or can we allow for a pause during the season so there is a brief respite," said Dr. Sikka.

Former world number one Andy Roddick, a consistent campaigner for adjustments, says the season should not go past 1 November.

The ATP Tour has decreased the number of events which factor into the rankings for 2026, which it believes will lessen "the cumulative strain" on the players.

"An aspect commonly missed: players select their own tournament plans," stated ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi.

"That freedom is rare in professional sport. But with that comes responsibility - knowing when to push and when to recover."

Prolonging several mandatory tournaments across a fortnight - creating so-called 'super weeks' - has also been criticized.

"I believe competitors are more worn out mentally and physically because they're away from home for extended periods," said Britain's former men's world number one, Andy Murray.

Alongside mental burnout, there are concerns about the increased physical demands.

Players experience a higher rate of upper-body injuries in specific periods, according to PTPA research.

The organization says these "predictable clusters" are down to the structure of the calendar and the transitions between court surfaces.

Minimizing Midnight Matches & Uniform Balls

When a notable match at the Australian Open concluded in the middle of the night in 2023, it was expected to drive reform.

In 2024, the tours introduced a new rule preventing matches beginning past 11pm.

But there have persisted instances of matches finishing well past midnight - which medical experts insist.

"After a match concludes, an athlete's day isn't over," explained Dr. Sikka.

"There are press obligations, recovery sessions, and physio appointments. Your day doesn't end at midnight.

"Your body, brain and nerves don't have chance to recover. No other major sport imposes such conditions."

Different tournaments playing with different balls - leading to changes in feel and performance - has been cited as a source of a rise in upper body injuries.

"I have suffered numerous arm, shoulder, and wrist issues," commented one top British player, "and I'm seeing more and more of these injuries across the tours."

A former US Open champion, who retired last year with an persistent wrist issue, believes tournaments in the same circuit should use one uniform ball.

"This should be a straightforward solution - the same ball for clay, the same for hard and the same for grass. That would be incredibly useful to the players," he said.

The tours moved towards a more standardized equipment policy during 2025 and anticipate "complete uniformity" in the coming years.

Emulate American Sports & Safeguard Juniors

Sports scientists believe tennis must take cues from how American team sports use data to inform the welfare of its stars.

Following data-led analysis, the NFL required consistent playing surfaces and improved helmet technology to minimize the risk of injury.

"The NFL has made many rule changes based on empirical evidence," said an analytics expert whose firm provides data to monitor player welfare.

"The financial returns have increased dramatically because their games are so competitive and they're keeping players out on the field.

"They are investing heavily in their stated goals by protecting athletes and investing hugely – that model is the gold standard."

Other leagues have implemented policies aimed at protecting throwers, limiting their workload at the professional level and putting limits for young players.

Some retired players believe the load put on the upper body of tennis players from a young age is a major contributor in their injuries later on.

"Training begins in childhood and have so many repetitions of our groundstrokes," said the former champion.

"Over time, the wrist suffers the consequences. Way more players have problems with the wrist. I think the problem is the many, many repetitions."

Athletes Are Pushing for Reform - What Are Their Demands?

An growing group of players are becoming vocal about the demands placed on them.

Current world number ones are among a collection of elite athletes applying force on the Grand Slams with calls for a larger share of revenue, as well as substantive discussions about the tour schedule duration, extended events and fixture planning.

Last year, a top-ten American player said it was "absurd" he was only able to take one week off before the next campaign.

Support is not always forthcoming, though, given top players sometimes commit to lucrative non-tour contests.

One Grand Slam champion from Britain says the grind is a "challenge" but thinks top players "complaining about the calendar" is not a good look.

"{Uniform