Taylor Fritz says it will be a 'serious disadvantage' to skip mandatory tournaments

For the past four seasons, Fritz has played close to 70 matches across the ATP Tour and at Grand Slams, with the American becoming a solid top-10 player.

However, this season, the 28-year-old has been sidelined for various periods due to knee tendinitis. Naturally, when you spend time away from the court, you are at risk of being overtaken by your rivals, who are ready to pick up sought-after ranking points.

In the past, Alex De Minaur has, among others, called for a shortened schedule, something that has not been helped by the elongated Masters 1000 events that are spread over the best part of two weeks.

Moreover, former two-time Grand Slam finalist Casper Ruud said the ATP's ranking system was like a "rat race", with players feeling compelled to compete in mandatory events even if they are injured.

Currently, tennis stars have just a few weeks off between November and December for the off season, before preparations for the next campaign start before the year is even finished.

Even though the ATP reduced the mandatory ATP 500 tournaments from five to four and the maximum number of events valid for calculating the ranking fell from 19 to 18 for 2026, the grind on the body takes its toll.

And if players don't meet those mandatory demands, they will miss out on the end-of-season bonus pool.

Indeed, former US Open finalist Fritz said he skipped Acapulco earlier this year as it "didn't make sense" to play that, alongside Dallas, Delray Beach, Indian Wells, and Miami. That means he will have to play elsewhere to make up for that absence.

The former world No 4 said on The Big T podcast, "No matter how much I try to shorten my calendar, it's still going to be a lot. It's really tough.

"You need to play mandatory 500s and 1000s. If you want to miss the mandatory 1000s and take the penalties for not playing the 500s, I'd say you're putting yourself at a serious disadvantage.

"My schedule is long but I'm only playing my mandatory 500s and 1000s and then two or three 250s throughout the year. It's very tough to shorten it to be honest."

For players lower down the rankings, who have smaller prize money pots and fewer resources at their disposal, they cannot be as picky as the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and more.

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