Carlos Alcaraz says tennis schedule 'going in wrong direction', players 'pushed too much' as Jannik Sinner ends season early

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner has announced he will miss the rest of the 2026 season due to a knee injury, having not played since winning Wimbledon in July. Carlos Alcaraz, who himself missed four-and-a-half months between April and August with a wrist problem, criticized the tennis schedule as going 'in the wrong direction' and argued players are being pushed into too many tournaments. Alcaraz made the comments after successfully defending the Japan Open for his third title of the year, ahead of his Shanghai Masters opener.