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ATP chief Helfant expects men's Tour to be shortened

Roger Federer feels the men's Tour would benefit from having a six-week offseason © Getty Images

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The Association of Tennis Professionals appears to have taken on board calls for the men's season to be shortened, with chief Adam Helfant fully expecting the board to reduce the calendar at their meeting in London.

The board will meet during the ATP World Tour finals in London to vote on plans to reduce the amount of tennis played, which, in turn, would lengthen the offseason - which currently stands at only four weeks.

"I do believe the board will take action on this," said Helfant. "There is a two-week [reduction] and a three-week option on the table and in theory no reduction at all but I would be very surprised if that's where we ended up.

"Each of the players have their own views on what would be an ideal calendar and we are never going to have unanimity, it's hard enough to build a consensus. But I think we will emerge from the board meetings with a consensus that balances the needs of the players and the tournaments."

Andy Roddick, who missed last year's season finale through injury, wants the Tour finals to immediately follow the Paris Masters - an idea that Helfant is open to.

"Paris straight into London is an option," Helfant said. "There have been no conversations with the players about altering their commitments but I can't say we've only spoken about the length of the season.

"There have been other things the players have spoken to us about to make it a bit more bearable. Once you open up the conversation it becomes rather far-reaching but what we are trying to do is take a practical approach with an issue that has been around a long time and hasn't been fixed."

Last week, world No. 2 Roger Federer urged the men's ATP Tour to bring in a six-week break to prevent burn-out.

"I think it's time we shifted back a bit and we get a proper off-season," he said. "Four weeks is just not enough. I think six is much better as you can take two weeks off... practise three, four weeks which is a lot for us in our world."

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