Are The 'mini Grand Slams' Working? - Second Serve

With nan two-week Madrid Open reaching nan halfway point, it is nan cleanable clip to revisit a thorny rumor successful tennis.

Stretching respective ATP and WTA tournaments crossed a fortnight has caused immoderate contention - and it's debatable really successful nan move has been.

The reasoning was nan elongated events would person greater gravitas - fundamentally creating 'mini Grand Slams'.

According to ATP and WTA bosses, that meant accrued financial opportunities for much players.

Another use would beryllium players having days disconnected betwixt matches, allowing for amended betterment and, successful theory, much high-quality matches.

Fans, successful turn, would beryllium much engaged and media sum would increase, creating a buzz astir them for illustration nan existing 4 majors.

For many, it has not panned retired for illustration that.

The players are surely divided. In Madrid, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek some responded positively erstwhile asked what they preferred.

Sabalenka said she enjoys nan longer format because she tin "rest" physically and mentally betwixt matches, while Swiatek added she doesn't "think astir it anymore".

But nan apical stars - nan ones who spell regularly heavy successful these draws - are nan players much apt to use from nan days off.

Others further down nan concatenation person voiced concerns.

The caller suit lodged by nan Professional Tennis Players' Association - which claimed to beryllium connected "behalf of nan full subordinate population" - said that "instead of providing master tennis players much remainder betwixt tournaments to strengthen a longer season, nan ATP and WTA person fixed them less".

It was besides telling that Novak Djokovic, who co-founded nan PTPA, gave a lengthy reply astir nan taxable successful his pre-Madrid news conference.

Asked astir Carlos Alcaraz saying he felt for illustration a "slave" to nan game, Djokovic referenced nan antagonistic effect of nan extended events.

"Now we fundamentally don't person 4 Grand Slams - we person possibly 12 Grand Slams. It's a lot," he said.

Seven of nan 9 ATP Masters are now played complete a fortnight, on pinch six of nan 10 WTA 1000s.

The first week of nan mixed Madrid Open - a substance of qualifying and main-draw matches - felt for illustration a slow burner.

The main stadiums astatine nan Caja Magica were seldom full, though nan grounds were swelled by hundreds of children connected schoolhouse trips.

For galore of those further afar, nan disjointed scheduling tin look illogical and difficult to follow.

Will thing change?

ATP president Andrea Gaudenzi is committed to nan format and, while nan WTA insists nan circuit is ever nether review, its chair Steve Simon besides believes nan building does not summation workload.

It seems, arsenic Swiatek fundamentally said, everyone will conscionable person to get connected pinch it.

While nan rankings are not updated until aft Madrid, nan unrecorded standings show a fewer absorbing things.

Russia's Diana Shnaider is group to scope a caller profession precocious - and could break into nan apical 10 for nan first clip - if she goes deeper than nan past 16.

In nan men's rankings, Russia's Andrev Rublev will driblet retired of nan apical 10 aft his Madrid title defence ended successful nan past 32, while Italy's Lorenzo Musetti is provisionally into nan apical 10 for nan first time.

Most eyes this week will stay connected nan second stages of nan Madrid Open.

The prizes will beryllium handed retired astatine nan weekend, pinch nan women's singles last connected Saturday and nan men's connected Sunday.

Attention will besides summation complete nan coming days connected different large communicative - Jannik Sinner's comeback.

Sinner, nan men's world number one, is group to make his return from a three-month doping ban astatine adjacent week's Italian Open.

World number six Jack Draper has led nan British complaint astatine nan Madrid Open and was 1 of 3 men to scope nan past 32.

Cameron Norrie has recovered a timely return to shape aft winning his first ATP main-draw matches since Indian Wells, while Jacob Fearnley - playing only his 2nd tour-level clay-court arena - came done qualifying.

The 3 British women who straight entered nan main tie - Katie Boulter, Raducanu and Sonay Kartal - each won their opening matches earlier falling successful nan 2nd round.

Francesca Jones fought done qualifying to scope nan first information wherever - playing for nan 3rd consecutive time - she mislaid a tight conflict to 2024 Australian Open semi-finalist Dayana Yastremska.

Boulter, playing alongside Daria Kasatkina, mislaid successful nan doubles first round, arsenic did Olivia Nicholls pinch partner Tereza Mihalikova.

With truthful galore master tennis tournaments taking spot crossed nan world, and crossed truthful galore levels, it tin beryllium difficult to support up pinch everything from 1 week to nan next.

As portion of BBC Sport's committedness to connection much for tennis fans, Second Serve will beryllium your play round-up of nan biggest stories successful nan sport.

As good arsenic nan main talking point, you tin spot which ATP and WTA players are making important advancement - aliases struggling for form, really nan British contingent are doing and what nan adjacent stops connected nan calendars are.

You tin also motion up to get nan latest tennis news from BBC Sport delivered consecutive to your mobile phone.