Andre Agassi insists “less is more” and urged tennis executives to implement a proper off-season for players amid talk around the relentless nature of the sport’s schedule.
The likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev have been vocal critics of the 11-month calendar, which sees the season run from the Australian summer at the start of January to the end of November with the Davis Cup Finals.
Alcaraz missed four months of tennis midway through this season due to a wrist injury and was absent from Roland Garros and Wimbledon. US Open finalist Ben Shelton, meanwhile, last week withdrew from this weekend’s Laver Cup in London.
Yet Team World captain and eight-time major winner Agassi had no bone to pick with when it came to his compatriot’s withdrawal and instead insisted the “wear and tear” of the modern game explains why the sport is currently hampered by many high-profile withdrawals.
“I always err on the side of the players – no player is calling me with good news,” Agassi said.
“I said to him [Shelton], ‘nothing matters more to me than my players, not just for Laver Cup but for their careers’, allowing them to be who they are and giving them something that they can take on.
“The game is much more physical [now], the balls and courts are the most brutal form of the sport. They cover more real estate than Pat [Rafter, vice-captain] and I had to do in our day. As a result, they’re rewarded with swinging heavier balls… the harder you swing, the more control you get, even on the grass.
“When I look at that wear and tear and the situation Alcaraz had with his wrist… the one surgery I had in my life was my wrist, you only have one of them on the side you need! You need to be really diligent on making sure your schedule fits your objectives
“It would be my hope that an off-season of security, you’d hope would be enough for the players because these guys are going non-stop. When everyone goes home, they go to the rehab room… I do absolutely err on the side of the metaphor ‘less is more’ in tennis.”
Agassi is looking to win the Laver Cup for the second year running after Team World’s triumph in San Francisco last year. Their outfit is led by Alex de Minaur and Taylor Fritz, up against a European side spearheaded by Alcaraz and Zverev.
Alcaraz, who finished his US Open quarter-final defeat at 3:34am local time earlier this month, insists he would like to see a curfew put in on all tour matches of 11pm, which is the situation annually at Wimbledon due to local restrictions.
"I think it's too much," Alcaraz told BBC Sport of playing so late. "The last match people stayed, but if that match was played earlier, the court could have been packed.
"I would like to change the schedule a little, with a maximum finish at 11pm or whatever would be better."
