Matteo Arnaldi has become the latest victim of the remnants of Tropical Storm Debby in Montreal, Canada. The Italian conjured impressive results to reach his maiden ATP 1000 masters semifinal only to exit the hardcourt event due to weather conditions. But, that’s not the only factor that disrupted his performance at the Canadian Open. And bear in mind, the young talent is low-key not pleased about it.

The 23-year-old touched down on modest success at the Montreal event. He started off strong, finessing the likes of Mackenzie McDonald, KarenKhachanov, Alejandro Fokina, and Kei Nishikori on his way to the last four. In hopes of claiming a place in the event’s title decider, he contested against Andrey Rublev. However, despite fighting all odds and waiting out a rain delay in the second set, Arnaldi succumbed to the Russian pro, 6-4, 6-2. Most would think his defeat came due to a sudden drop in performance or simply because Rublev outclassed him, but they need a revision. Arnaldi wasn’t at his best when he faced the No. 5 seed.

While talking to the reporters in a post-match presser, the Italian briefly mentioned that the lack of adequate rest possibly thwarted his chances against Rublev. He also took a sly dig at ATP’s hectic scheduling, citing how playing back-to-back matches coupled with two days being washed out of because of heavy rains slimed the prospect of recovery. However, the Italian humbly accepted the defeat, without shifting blame towards anyone.

He said, “I mean I didn’t have the best of the recovery. Yesterday we finished pretty late. I went to bed between 3:00 and 4:00 a.m. Today at 10:00, 11:00 I was here. So I didn’t get to sleep much, but you know, I’m pretty young. So it’s not an excuse. Yesterday I played for four hours and a half. Then the day before two hours. The day even before was two hours and a half. So I played a lot of matches.”

Moreover, this isn’t the first time players have been concerned with a stacked touring schedule. Notably, earlier this season, Stefanos Tsitsipas called out the ATP for their overwhelming timetable.

Matteo Arnaldi’s ATP scheduling remarks drawn after Stefanos Tsitsipas addressed the ‘hot topic’ of the 2024 season

This year, players have had a hard time catching up with an unsettling change to the ATP’s schedule. While tennis pros often compartmentalized their shortcomings, a sudden increase in the pace of the tournament’s formats has wreaked havoc on their recovery period. This, in turn, worried Stefanos Tsitsipas. The Greek voiced his assessment of the hectic schedule of players.

During a post-match presser at the 2024 Italian Open, Tsitsipas criticized the ATP for inducing a long-drawn format. According to the former World No. 3, this took a significant toll on players, affecting them both physically and mentally and further leading to injury concerns. Notably, the event’s prodigious two-week format, which draws its essence from Grand Slam scheduling- has drained players due to exhaustive traveling. Furthermore, these events only serve as warm-up events for the Majors, thus labeling the plight of players enduring a concerning calendar as such.

The reigning Monte Carlo champion also stated that players “got to be some type of superhero to be consistent back-to-back 10 days in each event getting to the very end of it.”

While it is yet to be seen if the ATP brings out some changes following the call for reformations, players will have to gear up for the season’s hardcourt swing. With the Canadian Open concluding, the Cincinnati Masters is around the corner. Next in line will be the US Open, the season’s final Slam, wherein a tiring two-week session will dictate how players wrap up for the year.