Rafael Nadal has proposed a major change to the ATP ranking points system. The 22-time Grand Slam champion and former world number one believes that the rankings should be determined by players’ results over the past two years, rather than just one.
“A ranking system based on results over the past two years, rather than just one, would give players a little more freedom in their decisions,” Nadal said, as quoted by Punto De Break.
According to the Spaniard, such a model would be more beneficial for players who miss tournaments due to injuries. He believes that the two-year period would give them more time to recover, without the risk of a rapid drop in the rankings.
The former world number one also criticised the change to the ATP calendar, under which almost all Masters tournaments were extended to two weeks.
“I think the decision to extend the duration of almost all Masters tournaments to two weeks was a mistake,” Nadal said.
He also linked the workload in professional tennis to the predominance of hard courts. In his view, injuries could be reduced by increasing the number of tournaments played on clay and grass.
“I don’t know many professional sports that are played on hard surfaces. In tennis, we play most of the time on courts that, to put it mildly, are very demanding on the body and joints. And then we pay the price through the consequences,” the Spaniard said.
Nadal admitted that during his active career it had been difficult for him to defend such a position, as it could have been perceived as an attempt to benefit from his success on clay and grass. Since retiring from professional tennis, he has presented the proposal as a measure aimed at giving players greater freedom and reducing the physical strain.