Jannik Sinner has fired back at Carlos Alcaraz following the latter’s criticism of the relentless tennis schedule, suggesting that players have the option to skip tournaments.

The U.S. Open champion suggested prioritizing rest and training over non-mandatory events, contrasting with Wimbledon and French Open winner Alcaraz who is feeling the burn after his 50th singles match this year. Alcaraz, who also reached the Olympic final and the Australian Open quarterfinals, voiced his concerns about player welfare at the Laver Cup.

“Probably they are going to kill us in some way,” Alcaraz said. “Right now there are a lot of injuries. Right now a lot of good players are going to miss a lot of tournaments because of that.”
Acknowledging the difference of opinion among players, Sinner argued for personal discretion in tournament participation. “Yes, these years it is quite long, but you have to choose. Of course there are mandatory tournaments, but a player can still choose,” the U.S. Open champion said.

“You don’t have to play: if you want you play, if you don’t want you don’t play. For example, both this year and last year I skipped some tournaments because I wanted to train, there are choices behind it. Then of course the season is long and it’s not easy.

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz© Getty Images

“I always try to improve on and off the field and understand myself, trying to understand what works and what doesn’t work. There is still room for improvement and that for me is the most stimulating part.”

Despite concerns over the grueling tennis schedule, Alcaraz has thrown his hat in the ring for the China Open this week – a lightning-quick decision following his back-to-back victories against the American players Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz.

The 21-year-old is faced with a challenging opening match against world No. 52 Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, who turned heads with his impressive performance at Wimbledon earlier this year when he advanced to the fourth round before losing to Lorenzo Musetti.

On another note, Jannik Sinner is set to square off against world No. 28 Nicolas Jarry in his own first-round bout at the tournament situated in Beijing, with many eyes on both Alcaraz and Sinner as they aim to dominate the proceedings.