TOKYO: Carlos Alcaraz won his eighth title of a sensational season on Tuesday in Tokyo and then pulled out of the Shanghai Masters because of “physical issues” and took aim at tennis’ packed schedule.

The Spanish world number one hurt his ankle in his opening match at the Japan Open but shrugged off the issue to beat American Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4 in the final.

But immediately after downing the world number five, the six-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz took aim at the tennis calendar.

“The schedule is really tight. They have to do something with the schedule,” the recently crowned US Open champion told reporters in the Japanese capital, echoing the sentiments this week of fellow major champions Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff.

Alcaraz subsequently wrote on Instagram that he will not play at the prestigious Shanghai Masters starting this week.

“Unfortunately I’ve been struggling with some physical issues and, after discussing with my team, we believe the best decision is to rest and recover,” the 22-year-old wrote.

Alcaraz injured his ankle last week in Tokyo as he ran for a shot, crumpling to the ground and sitting on the court for about five minutes.

He returned to play with heavy strapping on his ankle and has admitted that the injury had been on his mind throughout the tournament.

It did not appear to bother him against Fritz, as he gave another breathtaking display to lift the trophy in his first appearance in Japan.

He clinched victory with a cleverly disguised drop shot before strolling to the net to give Fritz a warm embrace.

The win gave Alcaraz a measure of revenge after losing to Fritz for the first time at the Laver Cup in San Francisco two weeks ago.

The number of matches in the men’s and women’s tennis calendar has been a major talking point in recent years, with players such as Novak Djokovic cutting back the tournaments they compete in as they near the end of their careers.

Gauff called on Tuesday for shorter seasons and said it was “impossible” to play more than she already does, after Swiatek also hit out at the number of tournaments.

They were speaking at the China Open, where five players retired injured from matches on Monday.

“With more and more events being two weeks it just doesn’t really make sense to strain your body,” the American Gauff said after emerging unscathed to reach the quarter-finals.

“I would like to see in my lifetime on tour that a solution be made to make the season shorter,” the 21-year-old world number three added.

Gauff, the defending China Open champion and two-time major winner, weighed in after top seed Swiatek said on Monday she may skip mandatory tournaments to protect her health.

Starting last year, the Women’s Tennis Association made it mandatory for top players to participate in each Grand Slam, 10 WTA 1000 events — which includes Beijing — and six 500-level tournaments.

“I guess on a business standpoint, it can kind of make sense, but on a player health standpoint, I don’t really agree with it,” Gauff said. “I’ve basically played as much tennis as I possibly can.”

Poland’s world number two Swiatek called the WTA’s mandatory requirements “pretty crazy”.

In Tokyo, Alcaraz said he too would look at skipping mandatory tournaments on the men’s ATP Tour.

“We as tennis players, we are not allowed to have a choice if we have to play or not,” he said following his convincing two-set win over Fritz.

“To be honest, I have to consider in the future if I have to skip some mandatory tournaments just to maintain my physical condition in a good shape.”

Published in Dawn, October 1st, 2025