Stefanos Tsitsipas has said he is okay with playing more tournaments but told the ATP that prize money should be increased if that was going to be the case.
The number of tournaments players are being asked to feature in has been an increasingly hot topic in recent years but Tsitsipas has gone against some of his fellow professionals by suggesting he would be fine with playing more, provided the prize money was increased alongside it.
Speaking on the What’s the Call podcast, the Greek said there had not been a “significant change” when it comes to player prize money.
“The most frustrating part about this is, okay, you’re making us work more, which is fine. Make us work more, but at least increase prize money,” he said. “I got promised back in the day when I had an interview with the chairman of the ATP. He shared with me the ‘OneVision’ thing, and it all seemed alright when he was presenting it and sharing it with me.
“But there hasn’t been a significant change with prize money and compensation for players for getting to play more.”
The scheme Tsitsipas referred to was established in 2022 and at the time, ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi said: “Our sport has huge upside and stands on the cusp of a new era of growth.
“Fulfilling our potential requires us to be united, pursue new growth opportunities and focus on what matters most: the fans. OneVision gives us a game plan to do just that. Its launch represents a game-changing moment for the Tour and a huge collective effort across our sport. I’m incredibly excited for what’s to come.”
Tsitsipas also raised a point that 2025 had a number of injuries to players and suggested the saturated schedule was negatively impacting players’ health.
“I understand the reason they’re doing it is for streaming, selling more tickets, and obviously, there are so many reasons why this is happening. But it also creates much more fatigue and injury for players, and I don’t think it’s accidental that 2025 was the year with the most retirements on the ATP Tour.”
“I’m not saying those Masters 1000s should go down to seven days, but at least they’ve got to find a sweet balance where we can still go over the normal amount but go within reason. Because the way they did it, they really extended it way too far ahead.”
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