The 2025 ATP season has laid bare the immense physical and mental toll of the professional tennis calendar, pushing players to their absolute limits. Statistics reveal that more than 20 out of the top 30 players in the live ATP Race standings have been forced to withdraw from a tournament or retire mid-match this season due to fatigue or injury. This epidemic of withdrawals highlights a schedule that stars like Carlos Alcaraz and Alex de Minaur have publicly criticized as “not normal.”

The problem has become so pronounced that this year has seen the highest percentage of matches ending in retirement since 1990. Amid this backdrop of widespread strain, the conversation is shifting from mere physical recovery to the profound mental fortitude required to simply show up, a theme powerfully articulated by veteran Jan-Lennard Struff.

As reported by @ilyza1002 on X, the 35-year-old German tennis star Jan-Lennard Struff opened up about these issues, stating, “I think we’re all good actors, too. We athletes and tennis players. I don’t think that everyone feels good all the time, absolutely not. In a year, when I play around 50 matches, I’d say for 5 or 6 of them it is 100% great. The rest is just about dealing with what’s available, dealing with what I have today, what I can play, how I’m feeling mentally, and pushing through.”

His words underscore that for the vast majority of the season, players are not competing at their peak but are instead engaged in a constant battle of management and endurance, masking their physical and mental struggles to fulfill their professional obligations. This reality is not confined to the ATP tour, as WTA players are also vocal about the unsustainable grind.

Australia’s Daria Kasatkina ended her 2025 season early, stating she was “at breaking point” from the “emotional and mental stress” of the relentless circuit. She emphasized that she is not alone in this feeling, a sentiment echoed by world number two Iga Swiatek, who called the mandatory tournament schedule “impossible” and suggested players may have to ignore the rules for their own health.

Earlier this year, Alexander Bublik described his top-ranked peers as “robots,” so singularly focused on victory that they use their own bodies as a means to an end, regardless of the consequences. This metaphor of dehumanization complements Struff’s analogy of acting, together painting a picture of a sporting environment that demands superhuman consistency from its athletes. And that’s exactly what happened recently at the Paris Masters.

Same issues, but with a different ATP pro

The semifinal everyone was looking forward to, featuring Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev, turned out to be quite one-sided, especially since it was a rematch of last week’s Vienna Open final. Zverev, who had fought hard to save two match points in a tough, two-and-a-half-hour quarterfinal against Daniil Medvedev just the day before, seemed to struggle physically right from the beginning. He just couldn’t get his forehand to work, and it was tough for him to settle into a groove with Sinner constantly pushing him.

The Italian took just 15 minutes to jump to a 3-0 lead, and he wrapped up the first set 6-0—marking the first time Zverev had lost a set without winning a game since the 2023 French Open. After the match, Sinner made a heartfelt gesture by writing “Get Well Soon” on the camera lens for his opponent. You could really see his empathy shining through in what he said on the court.

“When you drop the physicality like he did, you can’t find full power on the serve. He had a very tight schedule in the past months. Yesterday he won an incredible match from 2 match points down. It’s also difficult mentally and physically. He made the final in Vienna. Semis here again. It’s an incredible run for him. We all hope he gets better and fit for Turin. From my side I’m very happy to be in the final,” Sinner said.

This show of sportsmanship really highlights the respect between the two rivals, especially since their head-to-head record is now 5-4, with the Italian coming out on top in this matchup.  It’s pretty obvious that, whether it’s an ATP or WTA pro, everyone has had their fair share of dealing with that tough schedule.