Stefanos Tsitsipas has accused tennis officials of creating the injury issue at the top of the men’s game, which is evident in the absence of some of the top players in tennis from this week’s Italian Open.
Injury concerns plagued the Madrid Open earlier this month, and Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are both out of the Rome draw.
Tsitsipas has suggested that the ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, which were previously held over a week, are now extended to 10 and 12 days, which may be adding to the fitness problems seen by elite players.
Tennis executives will argue that the longer schedule guarantees players have more days off, but research indicates that extended stays in one place and the elite players’ practice schedule, which includes an off day, are not improving their levels of fitness.
Tsitsipas expressed his thoughts about it and said: “I think the extension of the days in the Masters 1000s plays a massive role and contributes a lot to the fact that these players are getting injured. It was perhaps already a lot the way it was before with the seven-day events. Adding more days to that, well, you have to be some type of superhero to be consistent back-to-back for 10 days in each event, getting to the very end of it. It’s not a very easy thing to do.”
He added: “Some people need to try it first to get an understanding of how to pull that off. Then they should make decisions based on that. If these types of things continue with the same schedule not being adjusted or customized to the needs of the players, we might see more of these things (injuries) occurring in the future.”
Tsitsipas in Rome, ranking, and results in 2024
Currently ranked no.8, Stefanos owns a composed 23-8 win-loss record in 2024. Stefanos is now competing in Rome where he conquered the world no.41 Jan-Lennard Struff 6-71 6-4 6-4 and the world no.30 Cameron Norrie 6-2 7-61.
Stefanos Tsitsipas will square off with the world no.11 Alex De Minaur in the 4th round on Tuesday at 7:00 pm on CENTER COURT. The head to head is 12-2 for Tsitsipas.
The Greek clinched 1 title in 2024 in Monte-Carlo. The Greek was the finalist in Barcelona (Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell).
Stefanos won 12 titles in his career: 1 on hard courts, 5 on clay courts, 5 on indoor courts and 1 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
Tsitsipas is scheduled to play next at the French Open (French Open). He will begin to play the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 26th of May.
Stefanos Tsitsipas |
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