Zverev says bigger bonuses won’t fix Masters withdrawal problem
Alexander Zverev said bigger bonuses would not tempt stars like Novak Djokovic back into full Masters 1000 fields, arguing the real problem is the length of the events themselves.
Alexander Zverev | © Tennis Majors
Alexander Zverev dismissed the idea that bigger financial incentives could lure the game’s biggest names back into depleted Masters 1000 draws, speaking as the Montreal Masters got under way on Sunday without Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic and an injured Carlos Alcaraz. The world No. 2 argued that money was the wrong lever to pull for a player like Djokovic.
“It’s not rocket science,” Zverev said. “We get bonuses at the end of the year if we play all nine Masters. You think Novak will care if he gets a bigger bonus? I think the guy has – if I would have to guess, the guy is north of 400 million dollars in his bank account. I’m not sure he would care about 50,000 more or less.” He extended the point to Djokovic’s ranking, which currently sits at No. 5. “I don’t think he cares about his ranking either. I honestly don’t think so,” Zverev said of the 39-year-old, who has won 24 Grand Slam singles titles and earned close to $200 million in career prize money.
For Zverev, the actual fix lies not in prize money but in the length of the tournaments themselves. Masters 1000 events have expanded in recent years to 11, 12 or even 13 days on site, and Zverev argued that scale, not incentives, is what keeps players like Djokovic away. “If you’re forcing us to be away for two and a half, three weeks during Grand Slams, and the same then goes for Masters events, you can’t force us to play. Sorry, that’s nonsense,” he said.
The comments add a prominent voice to a debate that has followed the tour through the North American hard-court swing, after Sinner and Djokovic’s simultaneous withdrawal from Montreal was framed by tournament officials and other players as fresh evidence against the extended format.
Zverev, runner-up to Sinner at Wimbledon this year, said he personally used to play more ATP 500 and 250 events under the old, shorter Masters schedule, but had cut back as the bigger events swallowed more of the calendar.
