Alejandro Davidovich Fokina slams ATP for "extremely early" 11 a.m. start in Toronto

Late-night matches and early morning finishes are a frequent gripe on the pro tennis circuit—but Alejandro Davidovich Fokina has a different complaint: being scheduled too early.

The world No. 19, who finished runner-up in Washington, D.C. just days ago, is fuming after being given an 11:00 a.m. match time at the National Bank Open in Toronto. The Spaniard, who traveled with fellow finalist Alex de Minaur to Toronto via private jet, had a smooth second-round win over Corentin Moutet on Wednesday and was set for a Friday showdown with No. 12 seed Jakub Mensik.

But unlike most matches in Toronto, which start at 12:30 p.m., Davidovich Fokina’s third-round clash is set for an earlier 11:00 a.m. start on the Motorola Razr Grandstand Court—the only stadium at the tournament with a morning schedule.

Read More: Leylah Fernandez criticizes schedule after losing in Montreal in quick return after D.C. title

That discrepancy didn’t sit well with him, and the 25-year-old took to X, formerly Twitter, to air his frustration in a bilingual open letter to the ATP Tour:

“Today I want to share my disappointment and frustration with the ATP,” he wrote. “Tomorrow, every match starts at 12:30, except ours, which has been scheduled at 11:00. We’re staying one hour away from the club, which means we have to wake up extremely early to arrive in good condition.

“We’ve asked for a change, but the answer was that everything has already been sold, tickets, TV rights, etc. Once again, it’s clear that players are not taken into consideration.”

In both Toronto and Montreal, the second stadium court begins play at 11:00 a.m., while all others start at 12:30 p.m. This continues through the early rounds until the round of 16, when the start times are aligned.

Start times are determined by tournament organizers, and vary from tournament to tournament. At the Miami Open, where Mensik lifted the trophy in March, early-round matches started at 12:00 p.m. In Davidovich Fokina’s native Spain at the Madrid Open, all early-round matches started at 11:00 a.m.

The ATP Rulebook says: “Each tournament shall provide ATP, at least one hundred and eighty (180) days prior to the start of the tournament, a typed schedule that includes proposed daily starting times and number of courts to be used.” This schedule is then approved in writing by the ATP. (I. ATP Circuit Regulations, Section 1.03)

While 11:00 a.m. is routine start time at many tour events, players tend to dislike how the timing coincides with rising heat and humidity, making for grueling playing conditions. Davidovich Fokina wasn’t alone in facing the dreaded morning slot—earlier in the week, No. 6 seed Andrey Rublev and No. 11 Karen Khachanov also drew 11:00 a.m. starts. Over in Montreal, WTA stars Sofia Kenin and Madison Keys were in similar positions.

“Today it happened to others, tomorrow it’s me, and from the day after, all matches return to 12:30,” Davidovich Fokina wrote. “There are plenty of available courts, yet we’re the only ones playing at 11:00.”

He concluded with a direct swipe at the tour: “The ATP always promises they’ll fix things, but nothing ever changes. This isn’t the first time it happens, and when you’re inside, you realize it’s not as great as it looks from the outside.”

Reaction to Davidovich Fokina’s post was split. While many social media users applauded him for calling out tournament conditions, others found his comments tone-deaf: “Wait, now we don’t want to play early too?” one person wrote. “Wish I had this kind of privilege,” said another.

In the locker room, not everyone was sympathetic either. Great Britain’s Dan Evans offered a blunt rebuttal on Instagram: “Wake up and play. The world wakes up (and) works 9-5 and even 8-6. Pathetic.”

Davidovich Fokina isn’t the only player raising schedule concerns in Canada. Home favorite Leylah Fernandez, fresh off a title in Washington, spoke out after arriving in Montreal unseeded and without a first-round bye. Although she requested a night match for her opener on Tuesday, the accommodation wasn’t granted.

While Fernandez blamed “political issues,” tournament director Valerie Tetreault told press she had pushed for the request but couldn’t override scheduling limitations. “I didn’t win my fight,” she said. “It’s my role to have conversations with the WTA, so I pushed as much as possible.”