‘The 12-day Masters 1000 is too much tennis’ – Henman calls for changes to calendar

Former British No 1 Tim Henman has called for changes to the calendar saying the 12-day Masters 1000 is “too much” tennis.

World No 1 Jannik Sinner announced he will not be able to return from a knee injury as planned at the China Open next week, having not played since Wimbledon.

Carlos Alcaraz missed the French Open and Wimbledon with a wrist problem while Britain’s Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper are among a number of other players who have been out for lengthy spells in 2026.

Eight of the nine Masters 1000 tournaments across the season are mandatory for most top players along with four ATP 500 events, and the growth of most Masters events to 12 days has been a bone of contention among players.

Former world No 4 Henman, who won the Masters 1000 title at the Paris Masters in 2003, would like to see changes.

“I think it’s been pretty well documented that the 12-day Masters 1000s is just too much tennis,” said Henman.

“That’s too much time on the road and unfortunately we’re seeing that with the number of players that are injured. I would definitely bring that to eight or nine days, which would free up the calendar.

“That’s sort of more of a product change. I think if I had to make a practical, rule chance, then I would just get rid of the let serve.

“Every other shot can hit the top of the net, go over and in, so I would get rid of it and play it as it comes.”

‘ATP must do something if they want us to play important tournaments’

Alcaraz’s run to the US Open quarter-finals was his first tournament since the Barcelona Open back in April after suffering a wrist injury.

Speaking in New York, the Spaniard stated: “Honestly, my break was longer than expected.

“Given the packed schedule, I obviously didn’t want to stop because of an injury. However, in the future, I will take breaks, longer breaks. Maybe not four months, but one or two months, skipping certain tournaments, because it’s impossible to play them all.”

At the Laver Cup, which was won by Team Europe, Alcaraz said: “I think tennis has changed a lot. They have changed the balls, the courts, the speed of how we play, the movement is now more aggressive and you have to be prepared.

“We need weeks to practice and to make the physical training. There are more important tournaments making us play more and more, so I really want to takes breaks.

“Who knows what will happen in the future, but if the ATP and [chairman] Andrea Gaudenzi has to do something if they want us to play a lot of important tournaments.”

Italian Flavio Cobolli is also having second thoughts about the number of tournaments he plays in.

“If you look at the number of tournaments and the number of matches we play during the year, it’s not that high,” he said. “We’re used to playing that much. The only thing we’re not used to is staying at a tournament for so many days.

“The tournament format has changed, and maybe we still need to get used to it. I’ve now been away from home for almost a month and a half, and even if I had gone all the way here, I would have played fewer than 10 matches.”

Murray: I understand it from the players’ perspective

Speaking to Sky Sports Tennis, Jamie Murray said: “I can totally understand it from the players’ perspective. The Tour is longer than it’s ever been in terms of commitment and days away from home.

“These younger guys have seen how Roger [Federer] and Rafael [Nadal] have elongated their careers – how they finished their careers as well. If they want to play until they’re 34, 35, 36, they will probably have to skip tournaments and that’s something the Tour needs to consider.

“The Tour is catering for over a hundred players and they want to be out there competing.”

Stream tennis with no contract on NOW and the Sky Sports App. You can watch the WTA China Open and ATP 1000 Shanghai Masters live on Sky Sports.

Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: skynews.com