Carlos Alcaraz has enjoyed yet another successful season in 2025 so far, adding five more titles to his name, including a second Roland Garros crown.
The Spaniard emerged victorious in Rotterdam, Monte-Carlo, and Rome before going back-to-back at the French Open in June.
Following another triumph at Queen’s, he was bidding to become the fifth man in the Open Era to three-peat at Wimbledon, but Alcaraz lost to a defiant Jannik Sinner in the final at the All England Club.
Since then, however, the world number two has taken some time off, opting not to feature at the first couple of events in the North American hard-court swing.
Photo by Robert Szaniszlo/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesCarlos Alcaraz pushes the ATP Tour for big change in tennis
Two tournaments quickly followed the championships in the form of the Washington Open and the Canadian Open, a Masters 1000 event.
Both, however, saw multiple withdrawals, due to players taking time to recover from the busy grass-court season.
The tight schedule on tour has been an ongoing issue for many players over the years, and now Alcaraz has decided to make his voice heard on the matter.
In an interview with Financial Times, he said: “We’re trying to change the schedule a bit, seeing if they can remove more tournaments so we can have more rest time, more vacation time.”
“It’s not easy, but we’re trying,” he added.
Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty ImagesThe big-name withdrawals from the Canadian Open in Toronto
Novak Djokovic and Sinner were among the first names to withdraw from the Canadian Open, which was a big blow for the event.
Djokovic had sustained a groin injury at Wimbledon in his quarterfinal match with Flavio Cobolli, while the Italian had also been struggling with pain in his elbow en route to the title.
Jack Draper also pulled out, citing an arm injury he was dealing with in SW19, before the likes of Tommy Paul, Grigor Dimitrov, and Matteo Berrettini followed suit.
With less than a month to go until the US Open, the Cincinnati Open, which has already seen a number of withdrawals, is likely to see more in the near future.