Tournaments come and go, but only a handful of players manage to keep up with this pace! Intense scheduling in the tennis world has even taken its toll on the top players at the moment. Several complaints have run rampant in the last few months and now we are seeing players withdrawing their names one by one from the tournaments. This is indeed a massive blow to the sponsors, tournament organizers, and even for the fans. Alexander Zverev is in red-hot form this year and guess what? Now he has also pulled out his name from the Beijing Open!
Recently, we heard Zverev slamming the ATP for intense scheduling. During a press conference at the Laver Cup, Alexander Zverev said, “There is no sport in which so much is played, it cannot continue like this. It puts the health of the players at risk. It is inconceivable that a season begins on December 29 and ends in the second week of November.” He strongly feels that all the players, tournament organizers, and all other authorities concerned need to come up with a solution quickly.
According to Zverev, boycotting is not an option for the players anymore! Reason? “We would lose money, other players would take our place and nothing would change. I only trust in the steps that the PTPA is taking to make us listen, but it is an issue that has no short-term solution.” Alexander Zverev’s withdrawal from the China Open because of pneumonia may emerge as a worrying prospect for some, but it’s not shocking!
Apart from his sickness, if we take a look back at his season, he has spent more hours on the court than any other player on the ATP Tour this year. Zverev has played around 75 matches across 19 events this season so far and that’s around 172 hours of play. As per reports, the German will be replaced with Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanović in the draw.
Zverev reached the SF last year and this year he was supposed to enter the tournament as the world number 2. So this is going to be a massive loss of opportunity for all Chinese fans. Not only that, surprisingly Alexander Zverev was also absent from the German squad that was announced on Monday for the Davis Cup Final 8 in November. Although teams can make changes later on, the question is: Is fatigue playing a key role behind these withdrawals? Because not only in ATP, but even in WTA we’re witnessing a similar picture!
Several notable names have joined Alexander Zverev in withdrawing their names from the China Open
During the Laver Cup, we heard Carlos Alcaraz heavily criticizing the congested tennis calendar, saying, “They are going to kill us in some way. Right now, a lot of good players are going to miss a lot of tournaments because of that [injury]. Carlos Alcaraz has played nearly 50 matches this season and according to him, “Sometimes, you don’t want to go to a tournament. I’m not going to lie – I have felt this way a few times already.” Is Alexander Zverev having the same feeling now after traveling across the world for the whole year? Well, only the German can give this answer!
However, the tournament will also miss the likes of the six-time China Open champion, Novak Djokovic this year. Even Djokovic has previously expressed his concerns about the hectic schedules. Players prioritizing their recovery process over traveling shows us the seriousness of this matter. Even Holger Rune and Cameron Norrie have withdrawn their names from the tournament.
The list is even bigger in the WTA! Previously, we saw Iga Swiatek opting to stay out of the Korea Open and now she has also withdrawn from the China Open citing personal reasons. Danielle Collins, Emma Raducanu, Maria Sakkari, Elena Rybakina, Ons Jabeur, and a few others are some of the big players who have chosen to stay out of this competition because of various reasons. Do you think fatigue is playing a key role in these calls? Share your thoughts in the comment box.
