'ABSOLUTELY BONKERS!': Cincinnati scheduling farce called out amid US Open overlap

(Getty/Robert Prange)

The ATP and WTA tours are standing firm and ignoring discontent from players and fans regarding tournament scheduling.

With ATP Masters and WTA events extending to two weeks as opposed to one, the tennis calendar is more congested than ever before.

World No.3 Alexander Zverev has previously stated that players "don't even get a full month off from tennis", and five-time major champion Carlos Alcaraz recently admitted that "one-week [Masters] are better".

By entering the code TFS2025, you will receive 15% off the RRP on all non-sale items when you shop online at www.racquetworld.com.au

In Toronto and Montreal, less than two weeks ago, both 1000-tier events overlapped the Cincinnati Open, as both finals were contested during Cincinnati's opening round main draw.

On Tuesday morning AEST, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz will play the Cincinnati Masters final at 3pm local time, before Iga Świątek and Jasmine Paolini take to the court three hours later for the women's decider.

But with three of the four finalists pencilled in to compete in the newly revamped mixed doubles at the US Open, the schedule finds itself at the centre of debate once again.

The First Serve's Brett Phillips spoke to the National Bank Open (Toronto) tournament director Karl Hale live on air for insight into the Canadian swing, delving into the decision-making process behind the prolonged events and how they are needed to push tennis forward in the global scene.

"Tennis fans, they really have to understand our position in sport, and sports like the [English] Premier League [football], NBA [basketball], all of these major sports are leaving us behind, that this is the way to go if we wanna maintain our status in the global scene of sport," he said.

"There are premier sporting events on the tour [Grand Slams/Masters], so you gotta work with those events first and then go back to the 500s and 250s. They have a place, they're important for our tour. Our tour is very unique…we're all over the place and people are travelling all the time, so start with the big events, work on that schedule. Make them bigger, make them better, and then in the calendar, where can you soften it so the players have more rest?"

Former Australian doubles No.1 Rennae Stubbs didn't hold back on social media.

"A Monday final is just ABSOLUTELY BONKERS! @atptour @WTA I'm sure the @usopen isn't happy about it either. Detracting from fan week and possibly the mixed doubles tournament they've put a lot of money into and that fans have paid to see with those names. Tennis really needs a commish!"

The Junior Journey with Beti Sekulovski and Michael Logarzo unpacks the junior tennis landscape in Australia – The First Serve Podcasts

In the replies section, doubles world No.19 Ellen Perez offered no sympathy towards the US Open, arguing that they were aware of the unideal scenario in response to Stubbs' comment about the tournament not being happy about it.

"To be fair, this Monday final was known [by the US Open] before they chose to do this dumb Tuesday mixed idea, so they really can't be mad. They knew what they were working with," Perez wrote.

The mixed doubles event in New York commences on Wednesday August 20, with the singles main draw starting on Monday August 25.

Game4padel is leading the way in the growth of Padel tennis in Australia. Check them out at game4padel.com.au for club locations, corporate event opportunities and special offers.