Former world number two Michael Stich has criticised suggestions from Andy Murray that tennis players could strike over what they consider to be an overcrowded schedule. “These tournaments provide them with jobs and an income,” the 1991 Wimbledon champion told BBC Radio 5 live. “I don’t think the complaint is a good one. I didn’t complain – and I played in tournament singles and doubles,” he added. Former British tennis chief David Felgate believes strikes are unlikely. On Monday, Murray told BBC Sport: “We just want things to change, really small things. Two or three weeks during the year, a few less tournaments each year, which I don’t think is unreasonable.”
But Stich says the bodies that govern tennis – and the tournaments that make up its calendar – support its professionals.
The German added: “I don’t think it is a big issue. They are not playing more than we did 10 or 15 years ago and they have shorter seasons than we used to.”
