Legend John McEnroe believes tennis players should be able to set their own schedule to reduce injury absences at the highest level of the sport.
World number one Yannick Sinner has already announced that he will not be able to return to the court in China as planned after recovering from a knee injury. The Italian has not played since “Wimbledon“. Carlos Alcaraz missed “Roland Garros“ and “Wimbledon“ with a wrist problem, and Britons Emma Ruducanu and Jack Draper are among the other players set to miss extended periods in 2026.
“Obviously it is a serious concern - the two best players to miss a significant part of the year after they have been absolutely dominant for the last two or three years. Carlos not playing at “Roland Garros“ or “Wimbledon“ - to me that says it all. We don't want that,“ McEnroe told the Press Association.
“That is one of the issues that needs to be resolved. Should there be mandatory requirements or should players be able to do what they think is best for themselves? I think that would be best for the sport. They would all like to play at “Wimbledon“ and the Grand Slam tournaments, because people are interested in them, and then determine their schedule based on their condition“, the famous former tennis player also commented.