“Give players complete rest” – After Carlos Alcaraz, Andy Murray’s ex-coach calls for big change in tennis calendar amid questions over health

After Carlos Alcaraz’s comments on the tennis calendar being tight, Andy Murray’s ex-coach and former tennis player Mark Petchey has called for changes in the player’s schedule. He feels that the players and fans need some time to recharge during the season to be fresh for the final stretch. After his shocking defeat to Botic Van de Zandschulp in the second round of the US Open, Alcaraz had highlighted how the tennis calendar was tight.
“Yeah, I mean, tennis calendar is so tight. I’ve been playing a lot of matches lately. With Roland Garros, Wimbledon, Olympics Games, I took a little break after Olympics Games,” Alcaraz said during his press conference on Thursday (1:44). “I thought it was obviously really helpful for me, probably wasn’t enough.” The youngster also highlighted this issue during the Laver Cup, for which he received some flak from tennis fans.Now, Mark Petchey, Andy Murray’s former coach, has taken to X (formerly Twitter) to mention the mandatory tournaments a player on the ATP has to participate in after the US Open, which included an ATP 500, the Shanghai Masters, the Paris Masters, and the Nitto ATP Finals (if qualified). He then pointed out the significant financial incentive of $8 million that a player could earn if they win all four events without losing a match.