Nick Kyrgios, Jordan Thompson join choir against 'absurd' ATP schedule

Nick Kyrgios has made his return to the court after an 18-month absence, but his time on the international circuit will now look vastly different to many of his rivals.

The current ATP programme sees players spend 10 months travelling around the world in a bid to improve their ranking, with just five days separating the end and beginning of the new season.

Kyrgios joined the chorus of players calling for changes to the highly demanding tour schedule, confirming he will not be subjecting himself to such harsh conditions.

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While many of his peers will be taking advantage of additional competitions to improve their ranking, Kyrgios confirmed he will only be competing in the mandatory tournaments.

"I'm not playing for ranking points, I've never played for ranking points - I made a Wimbledon final unseeded," he said.

"I'm sure people are going to be telling me, 'You've got to get the ranking up', but for me, I haven't been thinking about that at all.

"...It's more about getting healthy, getting back playing and enjoying the competition."

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The 29-year-old drew comparisons to other sporting programmes and the ATP calendar, labelling the tournament schedule as "ridiculous" and "absurd."

"The tour is ridiculous compared to any other sport," Kyrgios said.

"It's absurd, really, the amount of travel we do, considering we don't even get paid what we are supposed to get paid, as well, which is a joke.

"It's a tough sport, especially if you're from Australia you don't see your family and friends for six, seven, eight months."

Kyrgios noted the latter end of the season has commonly sparked the biggest reactions and unusual acts by some of the game's biggest players.

"You look at guys like [Danii] Medvedev towards the end of last season,' he continued.

"You've got guys like that who are starting to lose their mind a little bit because the season is just too long - and he's super disciplined.

"The season's way too long, I'm sure everyone can agree with that."

Australia's Jordan Thompson supported Kyrgios' comments, revealing his summer homecoming does not provide enough time for him to relax.

With the Australian Open seedings only determined a week before the event, tournaments like the Adelaide Open, United Cup and Brisbane International all can impact the competition's programming.

Thompson, who has been vocal on the inconsistencies of doping cases in the sport, said the game has "a lot of things that need cleaning up at the moment."

"It's a joke, our off-season," he said after defeating Matteo Berrettini at the Brisbane International.

"We're starting the 2025 season in 2024, it's a joke.

"It's a tricky one, especially for us Aussies. We practically leave after the Australian Open, and we don't come back until the Davis Cup is finished.

"The season is that long - we come back at the end of November and are away for 10 or 11 months.

"It literally feels like we get three weeks off if you play Davis Cup."