The best tennis players in the world gather in Southern Europe to play at the Madrid Open and the Italian Open in back-to-back weeks from April to May.
While tennis fans celebrate the arrival of the top players, the players are not sold on the idea of playing so many games with minimal rest.
Men's Singles no. 5 Alexander Zverev, who is set to meet Alejandro Tabilo in the semis, is complaining that they must play matches almost every day and must travel to another country or state over a short period.
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"Yes, you do get told you have a day in between, you don't have to play every day," he said.
"At the end of the day that's not resting. Resting is when you're spending time at home, when you're sleeping in your own bed, maybe with your family, maybe with your dogs, maybe with your kids if you have kids, right?"
Zverev added that the long traveling hours take a toll on players like them, who want to be at their best in every match.
"A day between matches, if you're at a different place, that's not resting," he explained.
"If you're trying to make semifinals or finals of every event, you're just away a lot longer, and you have to work a lot more."
The Madrid Open 2024 took place from April 23 to May 5 and was followed by the Rome tournament, which started in May and will end by May 19.
Before these two events, players were also at the Indian Wells Open (March 6-17) and had two days off before flying to Florida for the Miami Open that started on March 19.
Victoria Azarenka rues drama without reward
The Madrid Open and Italian Open are Masters events, lesser than the Grand Slam competitions.
Some top players only consider them a warm-up for the French Open 2024, the year's second Grand Slam.
Among those who explicitly used the Rome Open as a training ground was tennis GOAT candidate Novak Djokovic, who bowed out of the Rome event in the third round.
The treatment of Masters events is lesser, but the level of competition is just as tough.
This is why Italian Open 2024 Women's Singles quarterfinalist Victoria Azarenka thinks changes must be introduced to better protect players.
"People want to watch top players play against each other, week in and week out. ... There is a market for that, but there has to be a thought to make sure we do take care of our players," she said.
Azarenka and other players can only complain for now, as the French Open is set to start on May 26.
Djokovic and Iga ÅšwiÄ…tek will try to defend their titles in Men's Singles and Women's Singles, respectively.
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