Can the ATP schedule be changed?

Despite the rumblings about possible player strikes, meetings and the like since the problem riddled 2011 US open, this weeks Shanghai Masters is pressing on as normal. Unfortunately two of the worlds top four players, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, have played no part due to injury.

As a result, the ongoing debate about the men's tennis schedule has not gone away. Some continue to say the off season is far too short, just over a month from the end of the ATP finals to the new season, while others point out that only 12 tournaments or compulsory and a maximum of 18 tournaments count towards the rankings. In theory, a player could get away with playing just 12 tournaments a year, yet many choose to play more than 18.

But if the calendar was to be restructured, there are definitely ways it could be done.

The first thing that jumps out to me is that four of the nine Masters Series tournaments are in North America. The US open series (Cincinnati and Toronto/Montreal) makes perfect sense - but is there a need for both Miami and Indian Wells right before the clay court season? If any tournaments feel out of place I'd say it's these two. At least one could go, or they could perhaps alternate every other year like Toronto and Montreal. One could potentially be downgraded to a 500, and slot into the pre US Open schedule. Sure, there'd be less top players, but you could also argue that interest in tennis would be higher around the time of the Open.

Another option would be to push back the Australian Open a little bit, perhaps by 3 or 4 weeks, and place the Asian swing at the start of the season. The Shanghai Masters already boasts an extravagant retractable roof, so it could potentially be turned into an indoor hard tournament. Other Asian tournaments, such as Bangkok, would have an ideal climate in January so wouldn't need to be changed at all. As a result, everything after the US open could move forward slightly, and with a little restructuring of a few 250 and 500 tournaments, perhaps incorporating the South American clay court swing with the regular clay court season, there would definitely be potential for an earlier finish and perhaps a slightly later start.

The later start could potentially be sacrificed by moving the first round of the Davis Cup to the very start of the season. Most players will be fresh, and will only play a maximum of three matches in a Davis cup tie, it would be a great, entertaining way of getting warmed up for the long season ahead.

These solutions aren't perfect, and may or may not be better than the current schedule. But if something is to be changed, they are perhaps the most viable options in a calendar with little room for maneuver.