Mark Petchey’s comments on tennis stars slamming the ATP Tour calendar could put Emma Raducanu in an awkward spot when it comes to her friendship with Carlos Alcaraz. The tennis coach, who worked with Raducanu for four months earlier this year and has a close relationship with her, recently lambasted players who publicly “firebomb” their own tours despite holding their tongues on the Saudi Masters 1000 tournament due to the money at stake.

Speaking on the Tennis Channel, Petchey said: “What I disagree with massively is that they have a seat at the table in terms of these discussions, and they publicly go out and firebomb their own tour, which I think is completely unacceptable, I think from a commercial point of view. And we haven’t heard anything about putting on a brand-new Masters 1000. No one’s grumbled about that because there’s a huge amount of dollars going into that tournament.”

A new one-week ATP Masters 1000 tournament based in Saudi Arabia will be added to the calendar as of 2028, adding to the pulling power of the Gulf State, which hosts the WTA Finals and the Next Gen ATP Finals. Alcaraz has been one of the leading voices in complaining about the number of events that players participate in, claiming that he didn’t want to attend certain tournaments.

He said: “So sometimes you don’t want to go to tournaments, I’m not gonna lie. I have been feeling this, you know, this feeling a few times already that I don’t want to go to that tournament because I want to stay at home with my family or my friend.”

Just last month, the ATP world No. 1 pleaded with executives to change a hectic schedule. Speaking at the Rolex Paris Masters, the Spaniard said: “I don’t have an exact number of matches we should play, I can’t give an exact figure, but they obviously need to do something about the schedule.

“The number of tournaments we have to play is too high. We don’t have enough time to train and rest. Even during the season, I think it’s week after week, and we don’t have the chance to have a week to prepare well for the tournaments or what awaits us in the season.”

While Petchey didn’t directly mention Alcaraz in his rant about player criticisms of their tours, it is the Spaniard who is leading the charge in opposition to the current calendar. This could ultimately put Raducanu in an awkward position, given how close she is to both Alcaraz and Petchey.

Alcaraz and Raducanu have teamed up at several events recently, including playing mixed doubles together at the 2025 US Open. The 23-year-old also recently described Alcaraz as “being a really positive light to be around” and someone who “has amazing values.”

Thankfully for Alcaraz, the new Saudi Masters 1000 event will not be mandatory to take part in, should the star want a break from the action when it lands in just over two years’ time. Speaking about the event last month, ATP chairman, Andrea Gaudenzi, said: “We are dealing with players who are independent contractors, so ultimately they are free to choose their own schedule.

“They also play outside of the system, and we saw this last week with the Six Kings Slam exhibition. I do agree the off-season is too short and I don’t think it’s just too short for the players, but I also think it is too short for the fans, who at some point need to take a break from our sport.”