Cincinnati Masters
Iga worried by crowded calendar
Iga Swiatek has voiced her fears about the upcoming expansion of an already crowded tennis calendar, warning that burnout and injury among players will surely rise.
The WTA No. 1 who reached the semi-finals of the Cincinnati Masters in straight sets, said that player fitness will be at stake.
Already at the ATP/WTA stop in the flatland American Midwest, a handful of both men and women players have quit mid-match with various injuries and fitness problems.
Those handing in walkovers have included Holger Rune, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Dusan Lajovic on the men’s side while women who have been unable to finish comprise 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, Donna Vekic and Czech Marie Bouzkova.
Changes to the calendars for 2025 are set to include extensions of Masters events on both the ATP and WTA to nearly two weeks, with several sets of them staged back-to-back over the course of a single month (March and August).
“If they are longer, we have less time in between tournaments to recover,” Swiatek said.
“I think it’s going to be pretty extreme if all the 1000 tournaments are going to be like almost two weeks.
“I don’t think it’s a coincidence.”
The concerned player added: “This is a sign for WTA and ATP to kind of take it easy on us. On the other side there’s business that they need to take care of.
“I guess we are the ones that should be responsible and know when to take a break and not really push because it’s a race and it’s a pretty long one.
“This (summer hardcourt) swing is hard, especially with the delays and the weather that messed up the schedule (last week) in Montreal.
“It’s hard to recover from playing two matches a day.”
Carlos Alcaraz could miss the entire grass season if a worst-case scenario on his wrist injury comes into play.
The Spaniard has already withdrawn from title defences on clay at Rome and Roland Garros after injuring the wrist this month in Barcelona.
But latest reports from Spain indicate that the world No. 2 could possibly not be back until the start of the US Open run-up next August, possibly at the Cincinnati Masters.
Rome’s La Gazzetta dello Sport broke the bad news on the fitness state of Alcaraz, winner of the last two French Open editions. The paper reported there was no chance for the player to compete either at Queen’s club, London, or Wimbledon, which begins in late June.
Main photo:- Carlos Alcaraz reached Wimbledon final 2025 – by Roger Parker ISF Ltd
World No. 2 Jannik Sinner became the youngest man to complete the full set of hard-court victories by beating Daniil Medvedev 7-6 (8) 7-6 (7) in the searing heat of Indian Wells.
The 24 year old Italian, didn’t face a break point during the final nor did he drop a set on his way to claiming his first title of the year and his 25th overall.
Sinner has won both hard court Grand Slams, with victories at the Australian Open in 2024 and 2025 and at the US Open in 2024.
In addition he has lifted all six Masters 1000 series hard court titles – adding the Indian Wells title to victories in Miami, Toronto, Cincinnati, Shanghai and Paris plus the season-ending ATP Finals.
Only Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer have achieved the same feat.
Main photo:- Jannik Sinner lifts Indian Wells Trophy – by ATPTour.com
Felix Auger-Aliassime bounced back after a slow start, with the Canadian raiding his game along with his expectations on Wednesday at the ATP Dubai event.
The top seed survived the loss of his opening serve to prevail 6-4, 6-4 over France’s Giovanni Mpetschi Perricard.
Victory marked the 10th quarter-final or higher at 11 tournament for FAA dating to Cincinnati last August.
The seed’s game is on the mend after a hiccup in the form of an Australian Open first-round loss, with FAA winning the Montpellier title and reaching this month’s Rotterdam final against Alex de Minaur.
Auger-Aliassime said that he tries to set an example to his team by way of keeping his tennis standards high.
“I’m responsible, I’m the one stepping onto the court – I’m the (support) team leader.
“I need to uphold the standards I want for my career.”
The winner who broke three times, said the ball reacted differently as he played for the first time in the afternoon.
“I couldn’t find my serve in the first few games, I needed to get some rhythm. he also made it difficult for me. I’m glad I was able to find a way back into the set.
The Canadian No. 1 improved his record against French opponents to 15-1 since the start of 2025.
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