Jack Draper has said that “it’s up to the players to stop talking about it all the time and actually take some action” in the ongoing cold war between the players, the ATP and WTA Tours and the Grand Slams, in an exclusive interview with The Tennis Podcast.

In a wide-ranging interview, Draper, the British world No. 11 who hasn’t played since August because of an elbow injury, spoke about how tennis’ grueling schedule is hurting players mentally and physically. He advocated for a reduction of the 12-day ATP and WTA Masters 1000 events (the rung below the Grand Slams) and for a six-week off-season.

A spokesperson for the ATP Tour referenced chairman Andrew Gaudenzi’s question-and-answer interview with the organization from August when asked for comment.

Draper’s comments come at a time when the leading players from both tours, including himself, have formed a group and held meetings with the Grand Slams asking for a greater share of tournament revenues and more of a say in how their events are run.

Draper said the players should organise a meeting with the ATP’s chairman, Gaudenzi, to air their grievances, and echoed Novak Djokovic’s comments from this year’s U.S. Open, when the 24-time Grand Slam champion said that change would require time and sacrifices from the tour’s leading players.

The Grand Slams have said in recent weeks that any dialogue with players is contingent on the resolution of the PTPA’s antitrust lawsuit, which names the four majors and two tennis tours as defendants. Gaudenzi has said that with players being independent contractors, they are also able to tailor their own schedule.

Below are Draper’s views on the schedule, the tournaments, and how to effect change.

On the tennis schedule

“I think the intention was really good with making the Masters 1000s 12 days, increasing the revenue for the events, and giving back to the players, especially the ones who are performing really well. But the requirements are high. They’ve added an extra, say, 21 days onto an already really packed schedule. The Slams have also added days. That’s a different topic, but it just seems like there are more requirements for players. There’s more punishment. When I speak about punishment, I mean the fact that it’s directly linked to the bonus pool. So if a player were to go out and have a really bad injury, there’s no protection. They’ll lose 25 percent of their bonus pool for each event they missed. So say this year, I’ve missed three events. I won’t get any of one-half of the bonus pool. I get a performance bonus pool, but in actual reality, it’s not incredible.”

On how extending the ATP Masters 1000 tournaments has affected player welfare

“In a sport that’s quite lonely, being on the road for those extra days and not having the time to come back in between and just feeling like you’re on a constant treadmill where it’s like one big event after one big event after another one. A lot of players have spoken out about it. I think I saw (Carlos) Alcaraz say, ‘I think they’re going to kill us in some way,’ but I think people get confused because it’s not necessarily about the physicality of the sport. It’s about how much players are putting into sport, especially if they’re doing it properly.

“And when it just seems like there’s a never-ending cycle of events, of competition, of training, it’s really, really difficult. And you’ll hear people say, obviously we’re in such a privileged position. I completely understand that. We’re making great money. We’re in a really good spot playing the sport we love, but can the sport be better? Yes, it can. I think it’s now up to the players to stop talking about it all the time and actually take some action, come forward, speak about it, speak to the heads of the ATP, speak to organizations, and really come to some solutions here, I suppose.”

On the effect of longer events and playing seven matches in two weeks compared to five in a week, he added: “It’s not healthy. Obviously, a lot of players have come out and have spoken about mental health this year. We’re seeing it more and more. And I get it. Like I said, it’s a really tough thing to sort of verbalize because we are in such a great position. But at the same time,  when you’re out there, five matches in seven days is so much easier than seven matches in 14 days because there’s so much dead time, there’s so much waiting around.

“It’s more to do with just the player welfare, the mental burnout, especially certain things in the calendar. You’re seeing a lot of players come out to talk about mental health, talk about that kind of feel-nothing factor. And a big part of it is because tennis players are just on the road so much now and the governing bodies are just adding more days, more requirements to the players. It’s really hard being on the road for that long. And I’m someone who can go away to Madrid and come back home. A lot of these guys are from South America, from Asia, and they don’t have any balance of life anymore in such a lonely sport. So I think that’s a big problem.”

On how united tennis players are on these issues

“I think players are becoming more vocal around it … I think it’s a real shame because the whole point, I think, of the ATP doing what they’re doing with the tournaments is to protect the tournaments from the big players pulling out and missing their tournaments. But I think you’re gonna see more and more top players start missing those big events because if they’re doing really well, they just can’t cope with the demands of the schedule. So in a way, I think in the long term, if players’ careers are definitely potentially going to get a little bit shorter because of the burnout aspect, I think everyone’s a loser.

“Players have really pushed for more money in the sport and stuff, and they’ve tried to do that, but I think by doing that the way they have, it’s kind of backfired a little bit. Because I haven’t heard one player say they like it (the 12-day Masters 1000 events). I haven’t had one coach say they liked it. I haven’t heard any fans say they enjoy the system. And I think what’s most important for the ATP is that the players are the most important asset here. And so if something isn’t working, then we need to be able to speak and come to some solutions here.”

On players complaining about the schedule but still playing exhibition events

“I think for the guys who are playing in between Madrid and Rome, playing an exhibition there, if they’re complaining about the schedule, they have no leg to stand on that at all.

“Myself, I’m obviously playing two exhibitions at the end of the year, but I’m really not a fan of exhibitions at all. I play because I want to compete for something. I suppose I’m playing them at the end of the year because I wanna just get some matches for next year and to feel fresh, to feel good. And I haven’t played one since 2023.

“And you’ve got the Saudi event (the Six Kings Slam where each player received $1.5 million for turning up and Sinner won an additional $4.5 million for winning the event. Draper was entered but withdrew because of injury), which I think people need to have a bit more common sense around, because if you’re in a player’s position and it’s the highest prize pool in tennis, then it’s really hard to turn that kind of opportunity down. And I know it’s one of those, it’s like, ‘why would you do that? Why would you go there?’ But the way the ATP is structuring things, especially with the Masters 1000s, and the punishment if you don’t go and play all the Masters 1000s, this year Jannik and Carlos will make more money in one night of work, as opposed to a whole year of work.”

On solutions

“We need to be able to sit in front of Gaudenzi and have a proper conversation around where this whole thing is going and come to some happy mediums and happy solutions because like I said, there’s a lot of really good things that are going on, but most of it is at the expense of the players and it’s not properly thought through, I don’t think.

“I would like to see it (Masters 1000 events) potentially go down to nine, 10, 11 days, and I think that is really a possibility. I think it will give players more time to prepare for tournaments, more extra days to not be on the road all the time, and then the big question is, well, to do that, the revenue is not going to be the same because it’s 12 days now and it’s going to be fewer days. I would take a cut of that bonus pool to make it back to what it wants to be and I think if the players really want to push for changes, they can’t have their cake and eat it, and if they really want to make the sport better and if they feel really strongly about this subject, which I believe a lot of players do, then they have to be willing to take potentially a cut of that and understand that the ATP have tried to do a really good job here and put the money in the players’ pockets, but it’s backfired and players hate it. So it’s like, where’s the happy medium? So I would like it to go to maybe nine, 10 days in a perfect world.

“In terms of an off-season, I’d say a month and a half would be more than enough. Just not two, three, four weeks. I really don’t think that’s beneficial for anyone. I think as a fan of the sport, as someone who, if I were just watching tennis, I’d want it to be a bit more scarce. I’d want it to be more like more build-up. Like you’re waiting for the next event. Like you waiting to see how players have improved and what they’re doing.

“Every week there’s a different match on, there’s a different tournament. You can’t follow it because three different places there’s events and I feel it kind of needs to just take a step back and realise that the product doesn’t have to be out there all the time, but if we can have a product that’s out there for when it’s needed and not necessarily just 24/7, that’s really important.”