Alexander Bublik has called for tennis bosses to get rid of dozens of tournaments in a bold statement.
ATP 250 events are the lowest level on the ATP Tour,with 250 points going to the winners. There are 35 in the calendar.
But the world No. 33 exclusively told Express Sport that players are likely losing money by playing the tournaments and suggested they weren’t “interesting”.
There has been a lot of talk about the demanding tennis calendar this season, with more events becoming mandatory while some of the Masters tournaments were extended to last two weeks instead of one.
Players like Jannik Sinner have suggested that his colleagues should manage their own schedules, picking and choosing the events they play. But Bublik has offered a much more extreme solution – getting rid of ATP 250s altogether.
While athletes can earn millions for lifting big trophies at the Majors, the total prize money pot at an ATP 250 event is often less than £1million. And the Kazakh tennis star claimed it often wasn’t enough to cover the costs of travelling with a team.
“I think we shouldn’t be playing ATP 250s when they pay the winner 50 grand, which we don’t even feel because our teams cost more in the week and to travel somewhere,” Bublik told Express Sport.
“I don’t think we need to play 250 events and the Challengers. So that’s the message to the guys. It makes no sense for us, after being five, seven years on tour, you don’t get a bunch of money.”
Bublik has lifted three career titles at ATP 250 level and, this year, he played seven of the lower-tier tournaments. But he explained it was only worth it to gain some all-important ranking points.
The 27-year-old added: “Unless you want to make extra points which that’s what I’ve had. I think I didn’t play many 250s last year because I needed the points, I only went there for the points.
“In terms of money, we have to earn our living and 250s are not really interesting for players.”
Bublik is currently competing at the Ultimate Tennis Showdown in London. The Kazakh is a regular on the UTS league, competing in other tournaments in Oslo and New York.
Explaining why he enjoyed competing in the usual tournaments, where players must score as much points as possible in the allotted time, he said: “You play against the best of the best and you play non-stop for a minimum of 24 minutes.”
