Making the tournaments longer has only further increased the stress on the bodies of players on the ATP Tour<\/a>.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, world number two Carlos Alcaraz said he was campaigning for the ATP to remove tournaments<\/a> to give players more time to rest.<\/p>\n He had previously shared concerns that the busy schedule would see players pick up injuries, concerns Alcaraz<\/a> was right to voice.<\/p>\n One of the Spaniard\u2019s fellow ATP stars has now picked up an injury, just weeks before the US Open<\/a> begins, as he calls for the powers that be to make a change.<\/p>\n Karen Khachanov calls for schedule change after suffering injury in Cincinnati<\/p>\n Russia\u2019s Karen Khachanov<\/a> has been playing some of his best tennis over the past few months, recording several impressive results.<\/p>\n Halle Open \u2013 SF (lost to Alexander Bublik)Wimbledon \u2013 QF (lost to Taylor Fritz)Canadian Open \u2013 F (lost to Ben Shelton)<\/p>\n Travelling to Cincinnati off the back of a heartbreaking Canadian Open<\/a> final defeat, Khachanov quickly bounced back, securing wins over Valentin Royer and Jenson Brooksby to book his place in the fourth round.<\/p>\n Taking on Alexander Zverev<\/a> for a place in the quarterfinals, Khachanov trailed 5-7, 0-3, when he retired from the match due to injury.<\/p>\n It was the first time in Khachanov\u2019s career that he had retired mid-match, as he updated fans on his fitness afterwards.<\/p>\n \u201cTo be honest, for the first time in my career, I didn\u2019t finish a match and withdrew. Of course, it\u2019s not a very good feeling, because there are spectators and they came to watch. It\u2019s a strange feeling,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you are not ready, you don\u2019t go out there, in principle, but it was during the match that I felt discomfort and my back started hurting.<\/p>\n \u201cIn general, it\u2019s the same injury that has been bothering me over the past few years. Therefore, I decided that there was probably no point in playing on.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a Grand Slam coming up, and I don\u2019t want to make the situation worse. So yes, I decided not to continue.\u201d<\/p>\n The world number 12 wasn\u2019t 100% sure that he would be fit for the US Open, but didn\u2019t seem too concerned.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s too early to say, I don\u2019t know anything yet,\u201d said Khachanov.<\/p>\n \u201cNo need to get down about it, injuries are unfortunately part of our job.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked whether the busy schedule contributed to the re-aggravation of his back injury, Khachanov suggested it may be time for the ATP Tour to consider making a change.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe? Who knows? If we speak generally, our schedule is quite difficult,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want to complain, but at these big tournaments, on one hand, we have more days to rest, but on the other hand, the schedule is still very busy, jam-packed.<\/p>\n \u201cEven after Wimbledon, I didn\u2019t have much time to rest before I started trying to prepare for hard. I immediately flew to Canada.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s probably time to look at the schedule, it\u2019s not nothing that [Jannik] Sinner<\/a> and [Carlos] Alcaraz skipped the tournament [Canadian Open].<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s probably easier in their case to do this, because they\u2019ve already won a couple of Slams this year, but again, it might make sense to look at it.\u201d<\/p>\n Only time will tell if the ATP Tour makes a change in the future, but it will certainly be something to look out for.<\/p>\n Hoping to recover from his injury before the US Open, Khachanov now faces a race against time, as he continues his push towards the ATP Finals<\/a> qualification spots.<\/p>\n Can Karen Khachanov qualify for his first-ever ATP Finals in 2025?<\/p>\n![\"Carlos](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2229246581-1024x683.jpg\")
Photo by Ian Johnson\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Karen](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2229809041-1024x683.jpg\")
Photo by Matthew Stockman\/Getty Images<\/p>\n