Jannik Sinner’s shocking retirement after just five games in the 2025 Cincinnati Open final wasn’t just bad luck. It’s the latest sign that tennis’s packed schedule is pushing players way too hard.
The Italian star couldn’t handle the heat and pressure after weeks of non-stop competition. He walked off the court against Carlos Alcaraz after barely 20 minutes of play.
Both the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open got stretched to 12 days this year. That’s up from seven days, which worked fine for years.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jannik Sinner | 24 | 15,405 | 33 - 3 |
The change created a nightmare scenario. The Canadian tournament started just two weeks after Wimbledon ended, giving players almost no time to recover.
Top Stars Are Dropping Like Flies
The results speak for themselves. Alcaraz, Sinner, and Novak Djokovic all skipped the Canadian Open entirely.
Sure, Djokovic probably would’ve pulled out anyway. But the other two? They might’ve actually played if the tournament was shorter and scheduled better.
WTA world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka also sat out Canada, citing pure exhaustion.
When the best players in the world are too tired to compete, something’s seriously wrong with the system.
The Cincinnati Open saw fewer withdrawals overall, but several players still couldn’t make it. Some were already injured from their bodies breaking down earlier in the season.
The Heat Made Everything Worse
Cincinnati’s brutal August temperatures turned matches into survival tests. Alexander Zverev somehow finished his semifinal against Alcaraz despite feeling sick throughout the entire match.
That was pretty amazing, honestly.
Zverev had also played in Toronto and made the semifinal there. All those matches in quick succession, then jumping straight into Cincinnati heat? No wonder his body started rebelling.
Sinner was already battling illness the day before his final. The match started at 3 p.m. – earlier than usual and right when Cincinnati’s heat hits hardest.
He lasted just five games before calling it quits.
The ATP and WTA Cincinnati finals both happened on a Monday. That meant five different tournaments were running simultaneously: Cincinnati, US Open fan week, Monterrey, Cleveland, and Winston-Salem.
That’s absolutely ridiculous.
Everyone’s Fed Up
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina had already complained about crazy scheduling during the Canadian Open. He got roasted by Daniel Evans for whining about an 11 a.m. start time.
But after Cincinnati’s mess, even Davidovich Fokina’s critics might be listening.
"A Monday final at 3pm in August in Cincinnati, after the whole Toronto–Cincinnati swing, with so many retirements and players dead tired… something needs to change."
He’s not wrong. The current setup hurts everyone involved.
Players face serious health risks when they’re pushed beyond their limits. Tournaments lose their biggest draws when stars withdraw. Fans get overwhelmed trying to follow too much tennis happening at once.
Change Won’t Come Easy
Tennis players are incredibly fit athletes. But they’re still human beings, not machines.
Pushing superstars like Alcaraz and Coco Gauff too hard risks major injuries. These are the players who sell tickets and generate excitement for the sport.
Lose them to preventable injuries, and tennis suffers badly.
The ATP already released its 2026 calendar months ago. That suggests they’re not planning any major changes soon.
Real reform might only happen if players from both the ATP and WTA band together and demand it. Until then, we’ll probably keep seeing more retirements like Sinner’s in Cincinnati.
The question is: how many more stars need to break down before tennis finally fixes its schedule?
