The decision, announced Sunday at the ATP World Tour Finals, was approved by the ATP Board ahead of the season-ending event at the O2 Arena in London.
“Our 2012 and 2013 calendars each provide for the seven-week offseason, meaning that our players will have an additional two weeks to spend away from the rigors of life on tour before taking up the cause again in the following year,” ATP President Adam Helfant said.
“I’m happy to say that these new calendars and the expanded offseason reflect the broad consensus among our members that the players, and really the sport as a whole, needed a longer break. It didn’t take long to find that consensus.”
The men’s tour has gone on vacation from the end of the ATP Finals in November until the start of the following season in early January at the Brisbane International, Chennai Open and Qatar Open.
But the seasons will end sooner in 2012 and ’13 with the rescheduling of four late-season events along with the removal of the off-week between the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals.
For years, players have complained that the season was too long, and that the wear-and-tear of playing so many matches and so many tournaments was causing injuries.
“The health and well-being of our players is a tour-wide issue and preserving and extending the playing careers of our top players is critical for the long-term good of the game,” Helfant said.
This year, the final week of the season—the ATP Finals—started Nov. 21. But in 2012, the final week will begin on Nov. 5.
The Davis Cup, however, would still be scheduled for after the ATP Finals.
The season-ending ATP Finals, a tournament for the top eight players in the world, will be in London at least through 2013. If the tournament goes back to Asia or another venue that could cause difficulty for travel from Paris, more changes could be made.
“We have not even begun to think about what post 2013 could start to look like,” Helfant said. “When we start to have those conversations, which could be next year, we can of course look at our calendars.”
This will no doubt help to prevent injuries many players suffer as they near the end of the season, and hopefully throughout.
Now if only they could do the same for the WTA.
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