Lawsuits, burnout and growing tensions: Can volleyball find a way out of this mess?

ballervisions 2026年1月16日

In the final weeks of the 2025 tennis season, it seemed as though many sports stories were colliding to paint a picture of one unpleasant mess. As the players melted in Shanghai, Holger Rune asked “do you want a player to die on the court?”, surprised by the absence of a heat rule on the ATP Tour. It made surprising headlines, but showed how few off-court topics dominated the agenda after September’s US Open. Iga Swiatek has criticized the mandatory requirements of the WTA tournaments, calling the season “too long and too intense” as many players cut short their campaigns, citing burnout. “I’m in trouble mentally and emotionally and it’s sad that I’m not alone,” said Daria Kasatkina.

At the same time, Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka went on record, on behalf of the group of top players from the top 10 men and women, calling for more prize money in the grand slam tournaments and criticizing the lack of progress in discussions about the welfare of the players. The 22-year-old Rune, who was trying to make a late push for the ATP Finals, tore his Achilles tendon, a gruesome injury that sparked further concern over the tennis calendar and led to Jack Draper’s vocal call for a change, as the British No 1 continues to nurse an injury to his left arm.

And all this has happened as the four grand slam tournaments, as well as the ATP and WTA, are facing legal action from the Professional Tennis Players Association, with the case alleging “systemic abuse, anti-competitive practices, and a clear disregard for the welfare of players”.

These issues – scheduling, player welfare, prize money – are nothing new. Indeed, with the 2026 season underway now and the Australian Open just around the corner, the same discussions would have taken place last year, the year before that, and so on. The presence of the legendary Venus Williams in the main tournament of the Australian Open, after the 45-year-old received a wild card into the tournament, is perhaps a sign of a game that often takes its time to change direction.

Many point to the fact that tennis has seven governing bodies, the ATP, WTA, ITF and the four historic grand slam events at Wimbledon, Roland Garros, the Australian Open and the US Open, means getting everyone at the same table is challenging enough.

But the pressure is coming from disgruntled players. Take, for example, the feeling of “disappointment” as the Australian Open announced a record prize money for the 2026 tournament, an increase that matched Tennis Australia’s increase in revenue from last year. The players want to be compensated for a bigger piece and, in a letter to the grand slams, they stated their goal to reach 22 percent of tournament revenue by 2030.

A group of top players feels that their calls for greater consultation on tournament matters, such as planning and a new Sunday starting with their four grand slams, as well as pension contributions, have not been ignored. When you talk to The Independent last season, Draper said that while it may seem like the players are complaining, they are “encouraging positive change”. But the tension is growing.

Iga Swiatek said the season was ‘too long’ and ‘too long’ as many players cut short their campaigns last year (Getty Images)

The grand slams insist they are “remaining open to constructive dialogue” for the “future success” of tennis but the ongoing lawsuit filed by the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) has become a stumbling block for further talks at the US Open in September, after four grand slam tournaments were added to the antitrust case.

Since then, the group, which accused the sport’s governing bodies of running a “wagon” through “independent control”, reached an undisclosed settlement agreement with Tennis Australia, organizers of the Australian Open.

Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic has severed all ties with the PTPA, the body he founded in 2020, due to “ongoing concerns about transparency, governance, and the way my voice and image are represented”. The ATP and WTA both strongly reject the PTPA’s claims and have been joined by Wimbledon, Roland Garros and the US Open in filing claims to dismiss the case.

Frustration about the ‘crazy’ schedule

“Tennis is a game where the players are the prize,” Jack Draper said last fall, as the top players in the ATP and WTA were running empty-handed and frustration at the schedule had once again risen to the surface. In interview no The Tennis PodcastDraper was vocal in his criticism of the extended 12-day Masters events. “I’ve never heard a single player say he likes it,” Draper said.

Draper, 23, emphasized how “lonely” the 12-day Masters had become, rather than physically demanding. “When you’re away, five games in seven days is a lot easier than seven games in 14 days because there’s a lot of dead time, a lot of waiting.”

The head of the ATP, Andrea Gaudenzi, has made the 12-day Masters (currently seven out of nine, excluding Monte Carlo and Paris) the main pillar of the OneVision program of the ATP. He said the tournaments will be able to increase their income by selling more tickets, so they can invest in infrastructure and the players get a bigger share.

The ATP says the new 12-day Masters will lead to more investment in tournaments such as the Italian Open (Getty Images)

While responding to questions on the “complex” calendar in a speech published by the ATP, Gaudenzi urged the top players to commit to a “smart calendar”, prioritizing the top events – grand slams, Masters 1000s and a few 500s – rather than “playing low”. The ATP has now cut the mandatory number of 500 events from five to four before 2026. The WTA says player welfare is “of the utmost importance” and says it is listening to players’ complaints about the calendar.

Players are getting more and more involved. Aryna Sabalenka has indicated that she will continue to skip some of the WTA 500’s mandatory events, taking a penalty in ranking points in the process, to stay fresh in the grand slams and 1000s.

Sabalenka described the schedule and the mandatory requirements as “insane”, with the top players in the WTA mandated to play at least six WTA 500s and four grand slams and 10 WTA 1000 tournaments. Sabalenka, as the world No. 1, is at least in a position to be flexible, while also competing in shows like December’s ‘Battle of the Sexes’.

US Open champion Sabalenka calls WTA season 'crazy' (Getty Images) — US Open champion Sabalenka calls WTA season ‘crazy’ (Getty Images)

Carlos Alcaraz has also continued to play in exhibitions despite his criticism of the tennis calendar, with the men’s number 1 explaining that he enjoys playing in those events and does not find it taxing. Appearance costs undoubtedly help, too, while creating a loophole where stars can be drawn in bonuses for skipping mandatory tour events only to bring them back elsewhere, such as October’s lucrative Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia. Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner started their season with an exhibition in South Korea, rather than playing warm-up events in Australia.

Alcaraz played the most matches on the ATP Tour last season, with 80; arguably, perhaps, given how often she reaches the final stages of tournaments, and Sabalenka’s 75 matches were the most matches in the WTA. On the other hand, as ATP chairman Gaudenzi explained, low-level players will compete in many tournaments, but with a very low number of matches.

But players who drop out of the tournament early in one week are encouraged to enter the next as they chase ranking points to maintain or improve their spot on the 52-week leaderboard. It has been described by three-time grand slam finalist Casper Ruud as a “rat race”. There is a sense that this division into two categories does not benefit anyone.

Alcaraz and Sinner dominate men's tennis in 2025 but miss events such as the Canada Open in Toronto 'after many consecutive weeks of competition without rest' (Getty Images) — Alcaraz and Sinner dominate men’s tennis in 2025 but miss events such as the Canada Open in Toronto ‘after many consecutive weeks of competition without rest’ (Getty Images)

For several years, key stakeholders have been working on solving the structural problems identified in the calendar and sports program.

Another proposal has been a ‘miniature’ approach and a ‘premium’ circuit, which ensures that the top stars compete in the top events between the grand slams and the mid-season breaks that allow players to refresh themselves at the four most important events of the year. The lower level competitions will remain, they will go to the upper division.

But since the power of tennis remains so divided, any proposed changes – from the players, the tour, or the grand slams – lack the collective support to carry forward. Tennis is always stuck having the same conversations on the same topics.

There has been at least one new move ahead of the 2026 season, however. After the Shanghai tournament, the ATP introduced a new heat rule that will implement a 10-minute cooling break or stoppage of play if players, spectators or soccer children are at risk of heat stress. Change is possible. It usually takes your time.