ATP boss addresses huge row after Carlos Alcaraz claimed 'they are going to kill us'

ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi has weighed in on the huge, ongoing row over the demanding tennis schedule.

Carlos Alcaraz has been among those to voice his concerns. He previously

The boss of the men's tennis tour has conceded that it is a massive problem but his hands seem to be tied by commitments to the tournaments.

The tennis schedule is becoming more and more demanding for players with mandatory tournaments being extended. The Masters 1000s in Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, Rome and Shanghai are now played over two weeks instead of one.

And next year, the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open will also be expanded to match them. It will leave just two one-week Masters events on the calendar - Monte Carlo and Paris.

Plenty of players have slammed the demanding nature of the tennis tour, including Alcaraz. "I'm the kind of player who think there is a lot of tournaments during the year," he said in September.

"Mandatory tournaments, and probably during the next few years gonna be even more tournaments, more mandatory tournaments. So, I mean, probably they are going to kill us in some way."

He's not the only one who feels this way - recently took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to slam the two-week Masters format, . And previously

ATP chairman Gaudenzi has now addressed the concerns, admitting the off-season was now too short, though he backed the tour's decision to extend their premier tournaments.

"We have expanded the Masters 1000 and in the 96-draw Masters there is theoretically one more match only if you reach the final," he told . "I agree with the players when they say that the off-season is too short and the Davis Cup also has an impact on this.

"With the new format many players play in November, once only those from the teams that reached the final, the others went on vacation. Now you don't have enough time to rest, rebuild your body and start playing tennis again."

Much to the players' delight, the ATP boss confirmed they were trying to take action. But he admitted it would be difficult to pick up and drop other tournaments to make the schedule shorter.

He continued: "This is a problem and I agree, we are working on it. However, the tournaments are owned and since we don't have a centralised system we can't take events and move them as we like.

"Then it is true that there is an obligation to play the Masters 1000, our premium product. Because fans want to see the best play in the biggest tournaments: Slams, Masters 1000 and Finals.

"This is the product that is popular and needs to be strengthened, also because the gap between Slams and 1000s is significant."

During the ongoing row over the tennis schedule, Jannik Sinner offered a solution - play fewer tournaments. While this is a luxury for the top stars and lower-ranked players can't afford to do the same, Gaudenzi agreed with the world No. 1.

"Obviously it needs to be removed from other areas. Tennis players remain independent and can choose their own calendar, as Sinner himself said. Then I understand the temptation to play exhibitions, this is up to the athletes to decide," he added.