After Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz's schedule complaints, ex-ATP pro delivers "unacceptable" verdict while questioning stance towards Saudi Masters

Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz and other ATP stars' complaints about the tennis schedule were blatantly dismissed by English former ATP star Mark Petchey. The 55-year-old, who serves as a prominent tennis analyst and coach these days, also highlighted how the high-profile men's tennis players are yet to criticize the all-new Masters 1000 event that is set to commence from 2028 in Saudi Arabia.

Alcaraz has repeatedly voiced his concerns regarding the schedule, suggesting that players are being exposed to the risks of sustaining physical and mental burnout. Fritz too, has done the same. However, Petchey, without specifically naming the Spaniard and the American, questioned such takes.

Speaking recently during an appearance on Tennis Channel, the former World No. 80, who has worked with the likes of Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu, said:

"What I disagree with massively is that they have a seat at the table in terms of these discussions and they publicly go out and firebomb their own tour, which I think is completely unacceptable I think from a commercial point of view."

Petchey went on to suggest that despite frequent complaints about the schedule, players voicing them are yet to speak up about the recent addition of a new Masters 1000 event, the inaugural edition of which is being planned for 2028. According to the 55-year-old, players' silence regarding the development stems from the huge prize money on offer.

"And we haven't heard anything about putting on a new Masters 1000. No one's grumbled about that because there's a huge amount of dollars going into that tournament," Petchey added.

Carlos Alcaraz vociferously defended his participation at exhibition events earlier this year

Carlos Alcaraz in action at the 2025 Laver Cup (Source: Getty)

Despite his frequent complaints about the lengthy duration of the tennis calendar, Carlos Alcaraz has often faced flak for seemingly adding to his workload by signing up for numerous exhibition tournaments. Earlier this year, during a press conference at the Six Kings Slam exhibition event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the six-time Major champion claimed that exhibitions are nowhere near as physically and mentally taxing as competitive tournaments.

"Obviously I understand (the criticism), but sometimes the people don’t understand us, our opinions. When I see a lot of people complaining about how we are defending the exhibitions, I don’t understand them because, as I said, it’s not really demanding mentally (compared to) when we’re having such long events like two weeks or two-and-a-half weeks. It’s really tough," he said.

Both Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz are in Turin, Italy right now for their respective campaigns at the year-end ATP Finals.