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After Daria Kasatkina ended her 2025 season ahead of schedule in October, the ex-top ten player described how she had "encountered a barrier."

"The schedule is too much. Psychologically and emotionally, I am drained, and, regrettably, I'm not alone," she wrote.

The Ukrainian athlete Elina Svitolina, a two-time Wimbledon semi-finalist, had previously declared she was not in "the mental space" to carry on, while current Grand Slam champions Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz also believe the calendar is excessively lengthy.

This issue is still being argued as the world's top tennis players gather again in Australia for the beginning of the 2026 season.

A marginally increased off-season than 2025 has been welcomed. Nonetheless, a handful of weeks is not considered enough time for adequate recovery before training starts for an 11-month campaign considered among the most demanding in professional sport.

"Tennis places greater strain on athletes now than it ever has," said Dr. Robby Sikka, head of medicine at the Professional Tennis Players' Association (PTPA).

"Matches and rallies are longer, players are faster, they're hitting the ball harder.

"We have a duty to safeguard our athletes and give them a more viable sport."

So what actions are being taken and what next actions could be implemented?

Condensing the Tour Schedule

The 2025 season spanned 47 weeks for many players on the ATP circuit, beginning with the United Cup team event in late December 2024 and concluding with the Davis Cup final in late November.

The women's circuit ended two weeks earlier when the WTA Finals wrapped up in early November. The International Tennis Federation moved the Billie Jean King Cup Finals forward to September to help combat scheduling concerns.

The ATP Tour says it does not take the concerns of the players "without seriousness," while the WTA Tour says player welfare will "consistently be the foremost concern."

That did not appease the PTPA, which commenced proceedings against the men's and women's tours in March, referencing "restrictive policies and an obvious indifference to player health."

Overhauling the calendar is an apparent fix but cannot be accomplished simply given the complicated structure of tennis governance, where the four Grand Slams, ATP, WTA, and ITF each have significant influence.

"We must consider whether we can create more time at the end of the year for an extended off season, or can we create space during the season so there is a brief respite," added Dr. Sikka.

Former world number one Andy Roddick, a long-time advocate for change, says the season should not go past 1 November.

The ATP Tour has cut the number of events which are included in the rankings for 2026, which it believes will diminish "overall demands" on the players.

"An aspect commonly missed: players choose their own schedules," remarked ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi.

"That freedom is rare in professional sport. But with that comes accountability - knowing when to push and when to recover."

Extending several compulsory competitions across a fortnight - creating so-called 'super weeks' - has also been questioned.

"I believe competitors are more worn out mentally and physically because they're being on the road longer," stated Britain's former men's world number one, Andy Murray.

Alongside mental burnout, there are concerns about the growing physical demands.

Players suffer more severe upper-body injuries in particular times of the year, according to player association statistics.

The organization says these "predictable clusters" are down to the seasonal itinerary and the switches in court surfaces.

Minimizing Midnight Matches & Uniform Balls

When a notable match at the Australian Open concluded in the middle of the night in 2023, it promised to spark change.

In 2024, the tours introduced a new rule stopping matches beginning past 11pm.

But there have continued to be instances of matches ending deep into the night - which medical experts insist.

"After a match concludes, an athlete's day isn't over," explained Dr. Sikka.

"You have to do media, recover, work with the physiotherapist. Your day doesn't end at midnight.

"There is insufficient opportunity for the body and mind to heal. There is no other sport which mandates that."

The use of varying balls at different events - leading to changes in weight and pace - has been cited as a source of a rise in upper body injuries.

"I have suffered numerous arm, shoulder, and wrist issues," said one top British player, "and such ailments are increasingly prevalent among peers."

A former US Open champion, who ended his career last year with an ongoing wrist injury, thinks tournaments in the same seasonal segment should use one type of ball.

"Implementing this would not be overly complex - the same ball for clay, the same for hard and the same for grass. That would be really helpful to the players," he said.

The tours adopted a more unified ball-approval process during 2025 and project "total consistency" in the coming years.

Learn from NFL & Protect Young Players

Sports scientists believe tennis must learn from how American team sports use data to guide the welfare of its stars.

Following data-led analysis, the NFL demanded consistent playing surfaces and improved helmet technology to reduce the risk of injury.

"The league has altered its regulations using concrete research," said an analytics expert whose firm provides data to monitor player welfare.

"Their commercial success has soared because their games are so competitive and they're keeping players out on the field.

"They are investing heavily in their stated goals by protecting athletes and devoting significant resources – that model is the gold standard."

Other leagues have enacted regulations aimed at protecting specific positions, limiting their throws at the professional level and putting limits for young players.

Some retired players believe the strain put on the upper body of tennis players from a very early stage is a major contributor in their injuries later on.

"We pick up a racket as kids and have so many countless swings of our groundstrokes," said the former champion.

"At some point it goes on the wrist. Way more players have problems with the wrist. I think the problem is the many, many repetitions."

Athletes Are Pushing for Reform - What Are Their Demands?

An growing group of players are speaking out about the demands placed on them.

Current world number ones are among a collection of elite athletes ramping up pressure on the Grand Slams with calls for a bigger piece of the financial pie, as well as meaningful consultation about the tour schedule duration, extended events and scheduling.

Last year, a top-ten American player said it was "unreasonable" he was only able to take one week off before the upcoming tour.

Support is not always forthcoming, though, given top players occasionally sign up for lucrative exhibition events.

One Grand Slam champion from Britain says the grind is a "challenge" but thinks top players "complaining about the calendar" is not a good look.

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