“They are going to kill us in some way,” said Carlos Alcaraz of the tennis schedule last year. Fast forward to 2025, and the scenes at the Shanghai Masters proved the 22-year-old’s point, as hyperbolic as it was. Icons like 24-time slam king Novak Djokovic and World No. 2 Jannik Sinner struggled amid the scorching heat and unbearable humidity. Sinner, in fact, was forced out due to cramps due to the adverse weather. And let’s not talk about the number of MTOs Djokovic took to survive the force of nature in Shanghai. It all seems to have added up lately, as more players keep coming forward with their unfiltered opinions.

What happened in Shanghai was a clear case of burnout and fatigue. Djokovic didn’t complain much in Shanghai; he did underline that for change to happen, it needs to be a collective effort. “I can say that the players are not united enough, and players are not participating enough when they should be,” he said about the prospect of changing the scheduling. They make the comments, complain, and then go away. And if something is wrong after a certain amount of time, they come back again.”

Now, ahead of his Stockholm Open campaign, Casper Ruud concurred with Djokovic: “Of course, Novak has a point,” he said. “He has more experience than any other player. Sure, you can pick and choose in a way, because we are not hired by the ATP, we are bosses of our own schedule.”But even with the ability to pick and choose, it’s not viable for many players to take many self-imposed breaks.

As Ruud explained, many players, though frustrated with the schedule, are unable to put up any real protest due to financial constraints. “There is an economic motivation to play and not skip any Masters 1000s with the bonus and everything,” said Ruud.

“But yeah, sure, if you are in the top 10, top 15, you make a lot of money, but you also spend a lot of money with all the expenses that you have, so you don’t want to miss out on any money if you don’t need to.” When it comes to his take on the schedule across the season, Ruud simply admitted that “the season is long.”

As for the Serb, he has long since been attempting to foster change in how the tennis calendar is set up.

Novak Djokovic’s efforts for players amid scheduling woes

A little short of a decade ago, Novak Djokovic was named the president of the ATP Players’ Council. It was a post he held for four years before vacating to form the PTPA, an organization aimed at increasing player power in a number of arenas, but particularly in regard to the scheduling problem.

The need for change is a problem that the Serb has been vocal about for years. “More than 15 years ago, I was talking about us needing to come together and reorganize the schedule in the calendar,” he said recently.

While the PTPA continues its legal action against tennis’ governing bodies for ignoring player welfare, Djokovic also admits the need for top players to band together. After all, icons like Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer (members of the ATP Players’ Council) were vocally opposed to the PTPA.

Per him, one can’t expect any positive change until and unless everyone comes together. “You need the top players, particularly to sit down, roll up their sleeves, and really care a bit more about participating and understanding all the whole topics,” said Djokovic.

While not every tennis icon has come forward in echoing his sentiments, there are still a few notable voices. For example, six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek has, time and again, expressed her unfiltered takes on scheduling issues. This season, she went a step further, saying, “Maybe I will have to choose some tournaments and skip them, even though they are mandatory,”

But there is an urgent need for more renowned faces to stand up for the cause. Or else, as Djokovic put it, “Nothing is gonna change, you know? I know it from my personal experience, trust me, so, yeah, it’s quite a complex topic.” Be it the PTPA or otherwise, it’s clear that a united front is the first step towards meaningful change.