John McEnroe has urged tennis bosses to “pay close attention” to Carlos Alcaraz’s concerns about the schedule. The Spanish superstar has been among those criticising the demanding tennis calendar, and he spent almost five months sidelined by a wrist injury this year. Alcaraz has already warned that he will take breaks from tennis in the future, even if it means being penalised for missing mandatory events. And world No.1 Jannik Sinner has now been out since July with a knee injury.
McEnroe's Warning on Player Freedom
McEnroe, 67, said: “We've been talking about this forever. They do need to do something because the game has become faster and more physical, and the technology, the ball's being hit harder than ever.
“As far as how many tournaments should be played, that's been an ongoing discussion for 50 years. No one knows for sure, but it sort of depends on individual players. Some like to play more than others. Some prefer to play less.
“They should be allowed to do what they think is best for them. This is a sport where you're deciding for yourself. It's not easy to know. Sometimes you don't even know yourself. It's a tough question, but to be forced to do something or be penalised, I think, is a big mistake.
“You got to think about the people that are really helping the sport. If Alcaraz is making some statements, I would pay close attention to him. Sinner has just pulled out of the event in China. I don't know how long he'll be out for. Hopefully, he won't be out long. But this is definitely an issue that has been ongoing for a long time.”
Borg's Retirement and Ranking Penalties
McEnroe was also hit by ranking penalties during his own career, and he believes that his great rival, Bjorn Borg, would not have retired aged 25 if players had more freedom to choose when they played. The Swedish tennis icon had to go through qualifying at the Las Vegas Grand Prix event in 1982 because he did not play the minimum number of required tournaments in a year. He lost in the second round and retired a few months later.
“In my day in September, around the US Open, we had to decide our entire schedule for the entire next year. How the hell am I going to know what I feel like next October in early September of the year before?” McEnroe recalled.
“And then he was penalised, and if he didn't sign it before the end of the US Open, he was told – believe it or not, and this did happen on one or two occasions – that if he didn't sign this, he'd have to play the qualifying. This is one of the all-time greatest players, play the qualifying in Vegas. Are you kidding? You're just screwing things up, these alleged people that care about the game. I'm not saying it's all their fault, partially that he didn't play anymore.
“Maybe he needed some time off. Not the last Major he ever played when he's 25 years old. One of the people that regrets it the most is me because this is my greatest rival. I would even be happy to lose some, because he meant that much.”
Players' Partnership and Boycott Calls
The schedule isn’t McEnroe’s only concern. “I'm going to say this: the players should be partners in the Majors. Number one. The fact that they're not causes friction, to me, that they're getting such a small part of the revenue,” he stated.
A group of top tennis players, including Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka, limited their media commitments at the French Open and Wimbledon earlier this year. The cohort wanted three things from the Majors – a greater share of revenue, contributions to welfare schemes, and more say in decisions that affect them.
Prize money did increase at Wimbledon and the US Open this year, and a Grand Slam player council has also been agreed. After securing formal negotiations with the Slams, this group ended their public campaign. McEnroe, however, thinks they should take more drastic action and boycott “one or two” Majors.
“They offered me guarantees when I was young to play in Australia. The top guys weren't playing. Can you imagine Grand Slams offering guarantees? Well, that's what was happening,” he said.
“But I believe the players should be partners in that success. But you know, this is off topic. But the only way to succeed in doing that, in my opinion, you're gonna have to boycott one or two of these.”
