Rennae Stubbs finds Carlos Alcaraz's calendar criticism "funny" as the former six-time Grand Slam doubles champion suggests it is a bit ironic that the Spaniard is complaining about the schedule being too demanding but then signing up for offseason exhibition tournaments.
In case you missed it, Alcaraz had some strong words when addressing the ATP calendar in Tokyo, ripping it as "really tight" and criticizing the mandatory tournament rules. In the same presser, the five-time Grand Slam champion even indicated that he was going to break rules and miss some mandatory tournaments.
On Wednesday, Alcaraz defeated Taylor Fritz in the Tokyo final. Hours later, the world No. 1 withdrew from the Shanghai Masters. So far this year, the 22-year-old has appeared in 15 tournaments and owns a 67-7 record.
Stubbs on why Alcaraz's calendar criticism is 'funny'
I do think it's funny because as much as I love Carlos, it's like I have recently seen that he is literally signed up for like every exhibition in December. He's doing one in New Jersey, he's doing the one in Saudi Arabia. Like, it is hard to take them seriously when they're like, yes, the schedule needs to be smaller so that I can go play exhibitions in the Miami suburbs. Again, not so much critique, it's just a little inconsistent. Yeah, that just makes me, that's what makes me laugh," the Australian tennis legend said on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast.
After pulling out of the Shanghai Masters, Alcaraz will go from Asia to Saudi Arabia as he is one of the six major names slated to compete at the Six Kings Slam in Riyadh between October 15-18. As you can see, it is a star-studded exhibition event taking place while the season is still ongoing.
When addressing the players' criticism of the calendar last year, ATP CEO Andrea Gaudenzi bluntly said that the ATP calendar wouldn't be that demanding if they played fewer exhibitions.
