Tsitsipas takes aim at ATP’s two-week Masters debacle

Stefanos Tsitsipas has joined the growing chorus of complaints as the ATP charges ahead with the controversial doubling of the Masters 1000 tournament length from one week to two.

The hot-topic change is due to be completed in 2025 despite criticism coming from all corners of the tennis universe.

The Greek whose season ended at last week’s Paris Masters – the last of the classic one-week events – has lashed out at what he called a “backwards step” by tennis bosses whose client tourneys can reap more money by adding more days of play.

On the Grand Slam stage, both the French and Australian Opens start on a Sunday, extending those to majors to a gruelling 15 days.

But it’s the Masters plan which is drawing fire from the player side of the sport.

Former No. 1 Andy Roddick, who hosts an influential podcast,” has labelled the expansion as “stupid.”

Tsitsipas echoes that harsh sentiment: “The two-week Masters 1000s have turned into a drag, the quality has definitely dropped.

“Players aren’t getting the recovery or training time they need, with constant matches and no space for the intense work off the court.”

Already, the Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Rome Masters were played at two weeks this season, with Canada and Cincinnati expected to follow the ATP diktat next August and expand as well.

“If the goal was to ease the calendar, extending every 1000 to two weeks is a backwards move. Sometimes, it feels like they’re fixing what wasn’t broken,” Tsitsipas posted on social media.