--- title: "Tennis 'Reset': Rafael Nadal Proposes Changes to ATP Calendar and Ranking System" description: "Rafael Nadal has called for a systemic reset of professional tennis: changing the calendar, shortening the season, and revising the ranking system to reduce player injuries." date: 2026-11-11T13:44:20.916Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/rafael-nadal-proposes-tennis-reform tags: [rafael-nadal, atp, tennis-reform, tennis-calendar, world-ranking] author: "Inna Kinsheva, Dmitriy Shatolov" publisher: "XAB.info" --- # Tennis 'Reset': Rafael Nadal Proposes Changes to ATP Calendar and Ranking System ![Rafael Nadal speaking with a microphone to an audience at a tennis event](https://xab.info/media/2026/11/11/rafael-nadal-predlozhil-reformirovat-tennis-kalendar-i-reyting/rafael-nadal-predlozhil-reformirovat-tennis-kalendar-i-reyting-1.webp) ## Key Points - Nadal considers the ~11-month ATP season to be the cause of chronic overexertion and injuries for tennis players. - The Spaniard criticized the dominance of hard courts and advocated for a variety of surfaces. - He proposed switching from a 52-week ranking to a system based on results over two years. - Nadal called the expansion of most Masters 1000 tournaments to two weeks a mistake. Legendary Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal, a former world No. 1, has put forward a series of proposals for a major reform of professional tennis. According to him, the ATP system needs a systematic 'reset,' which would primarily affect the competition calendar and the mechanism for calculating ranking points. Nadal is convinced that the current model creates chronic overexertion for athletes, the consequences of which players are forced to pay for with their own health. ### 11-Month Season and Chronic Overexertion The Spaniard's central argument is the duration of the professional season, which he estimates lasts almost 11 months. Such a schedule, Nadal argues, denies tennis players adequate time for rest, recovery, and high-quality physical conditioning. He attributes the prevalence of injuries to this intensity: modern demands of the game — increasingly powerful strokes and explosive court movements — place extra stress on the body, and the lack of breaks prevents recovery. ### Hard Courts and Impact Stress on Joints Nadal devoted particular attention to the dominance of hard court surfaces in the calendar. He considers these courts 'too aggressive' for joints, especially given the multi-month season. 'I don't know many professional sports where competitions are held on such surfaces. In tennis, we spend most of our time playing on courts that, let's say, are very aggressive for the body and the joints. And then we pay for it with the consequences,' the Spaniard stated. He advocated for maintaining a greater variety of surfaces, noting that clay and grass courts might be more favorable in terms of impact stress, even though they have their own unique physical characteristics. ### Two-Year Ranking Instead of One Nadal identified the current ranking points system as the second key issue. Currently, the ATP ranking is based on results from the last 52 weeks, forcing tennis players to participate in tournaments constantly: missing events where significant points were previously earned can cause a player's position to drop sharply. This problem is particularly acute during injury periods that require prolonged recovery. The Spaniard proposed moving to a system where the ranking would account for results from the last two years instead of one. 'A ranking system based on results from the last two years instead of one would give players a little more freedom to make the right decisions. At the same time, in case of injury, they would have more time to recover without fearing that their ranking position would collapse quickly,' he explained. ### Two-Week Masters 1000s are a 'Mistake' Separately, the former world leader spoke about the duration of the Masters 1000 series tournaments. He does not support the decision to make most of these competitions two weeks long, as he believes it further compresses the calendar and increases the burden on athletes. 'I also believe that the decision to extend almost all Masters 1000 tournaments to two weeks was a mistake,' Nadal emphasized. In conclusion, the Spaniard called for systemic changes that would give players more recovery options and help reduce the risk of injury. In his view, the current calendar and ranking model generates problems that athletes pay for with their health. It was previously reported that following the cases of Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek, anti-doping rules in tennis were also changed, making the topic of reforming professional tennis especially relevant. ## Fact-Check & Sources - [Теннис нуждается в перезагрузке: легенда спорта предложил изменить правила игры](https://sport.rbc.ua/ukr/tennis/tenis-potrebue-perezavantazhennya-legenda-1794398819.html) - The source contains direct quotes from Nadal regarding the calendar, surfaces, two-year rankings, and two-week Masters 1000s; facts and quotes align with the article content. ## FAQ ### What specifically did Rafael Nadal propose changing in professional tennis? Nadal proposed changing the competition calendar and the ranking points system to reduce the burden and risk of injuries to players. ### Why does Nadal criticize the current ATP ranking system? As long as the ranking is based on the last 52 weeks, players are forced to constantly compete to defend points; this is especially dangerous during injury. Nadal suggests considering results over two years. ### How does Nadal view the expansion of Masters 1000 tournaments to two weeks? He called it a mistake, as it further tightens the calendar and increases the burden on athletes.