The Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) has issued a strongly worded statement linking the length of the season, and the fact that seven of the nine Masters 1000 events have expanded to a 12-day format, to the rise in injuries.
It cites a collection of “analysis of injury data from more than 30,000 professional matches spanning the past eight years across all levels of the sport”, before concluding that – in the first quarter of this year, compared with the previous seven – upper-body injuries are up 42 per cent, arm injuries 112 per cent, match-ending injuries 53 per cent and recurrence of injuries 55 per cent.
The PTPA is not without its controversial side. It was co-founded by Djokovic, who stepped away from the organisation in January citing concerns about “transparency and governance” and in July escalated a dispute over the group’s leadership and ongoing anti-trust lawsuit.
In 2025, the ATP Tour announced that the Canada and Cincinnati Masters would become 12-day events, following Rome, Madrid and Shanghai, which did so in 2023.
Zverev was one of the most vocal critics of the change, saying in 2025: “To be honest, I’ve not heard a single player say that they love the two-week Masters events. I don’t even think fans like that. They don’t like waiting for two days for their favourite player to play again. I understand tennis is a business, but I’m not sure that business plan is working very well right now.”