Djokovic urges top stars to ‘roll up their sleeves’, take stand against hectic schedule: ‘Players not united enough’

Serbian tennis icon Novak Djokovic has urged other players to take a united stand against the hectic calendar, which forced world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz to skip the Shanghai Masters recently.

Alcaraz, who had defeated Jannik Sinner in the US Open final to win is sixth Grand Slam last month, has been critical of the ATP’s hectic schedule, claiming “they are going to kill us in some way.”

His view has been supported by other top players, with Sinner admitting that players needed to be selective about their participation in tournaments and women’s world No 2 Iga Swiatek stating that the season is “too long and too intense”.

And a key reason for the discontent among players is the extended duration of ATP and WTA 1000 tournaments including the Shanghai Masters, which now take place over the course of 12 days instead of seven.

Djokovic calls for unity among players against hectic schedule

Djokovic, who co-founded the Professional Tennis Players Association, also voiced his support for his fellow players but felt they needed to unite and do something about it if they wanted to see a change down the road.

“In the end, 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,” Djokovic was quoted by The Daily Express as saying on the sidelines of the Shanghai Masters, where he is set to face compatriot Marin Cilic later on Friday.

“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. 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.

“For that to happen you need the top players particularly, you know, to sit down, roll up their sleeves, and really care a bit more about participating in understanding all of the hot topic, I would say.

“Because going out in the media and talking about this and that, okay, it might stir up some energy or some attention. But in the end of the day it’s not going to change, nothing is going to change, you know? I know it from my personal experience, trust me. So, yeah, it’s quite a complex topic,” the 24-time Grand Slam champion added.

Djokovic recalled the time he was part of the ATP’s Player Council and how he was against the idea of extending the duration of Masters tournaments, thereby creating a more hectic calendar.

“Well, I was personally against the extension of the days of duration of the Masters 1000 events, right? I felt from the very beginning I was against it. Actually, even when I was in the council, I think I was at the time president of the council, so I was not supportive of that. I think for the players it’s not good,” the 38-year-old added.