Dan Evans has sent a pointed message to top-ranked tennis stars who aren’t happy with the schedule. Ahead of this week’s ATP 500 event at Queen’s, the former world No. 21 addressed rivals’ complaints about the demanding calendar and warned colleagues to “be careful” when suggesting there should be fewer tournaments in a season.

And the Brit has now explained exactly why lower-ranked players need a packed schedule to sustain their careers, reminding the top guys: “Just because they are better than us at tennis doesn’t mean their voice is louder to talk.”

Players like Carlos Alcaraz and Jack Draper have previously spoken out about the relentless nature of the tennis season, which runs for 11 months of the year. Five-time Major winner Alcaraz once joked: “They are going to kill us.”

Meanwhile, British No. 1 Draper recently said: “I think the way the tour is at the moment and these two-week events and less weeks to be at home, less weeks to train, it just seems like you’re on a constant rabbit wheel, and there’s no way off it.”

But over the weekend, Evans warned his colleagues and rivals against complaining too much and told them they had a choice not to play.

“We’ve got to be careful moaning about it, we have a lot of work which is good. There’s lots of people in the world struggling for work, so we have to be careful harping on about the tough schedule. We are allowed to take weeks off, we are independent contractors, so that’s where I stand on it,” he told the BBC.

The 35-year-old addressed the topic again following his stunning 7-5 6-2 victory over world No. 13 Frances Tiafoe at the Queen’s Club on Monday – his first top-20 win in two years.

“Everybody is entitled to their opinion on the schedule, but the tour has been like that for however many years,” he started.

“The top, top guys schedule properly, and that’s, you know, that’s I guess what’s part of the issue, I imagine, is how people schedule how many weeks they want to play, how many weeks they don’t want to play.

“Me personally, I see the weeks before Grand Slams are way stronger than they were maybe ten years ago. There is more top players playing. I don’t know if that’s to try and pick up cheap points, but, you know, there are these massive teams now.

“They are allowed to have some input into it. There are loads of weeks in the year you can take off or train or whatnot. That’s up to them.”

And Evans, who has been ranked as high as No. 21 but currently sits at No. 199, had a strong message for top stars who may want fewer tournaments on the calendar, reminding them that the lower-ranked players still have a voice.

He continued: “Anybody outside the top 15 don’t have those views, because the bottom line is anybody outside the top 15 need to play every week. People need working opportunities. If you are at 60 in the world with more than two people on your staff each week, you need to make money.

“So you can’t just not have tournaments every week. They need tournaments. That’s it. Can’t just listen to the top guys on scheduling. Just because they are better than us at tennis doesn’t mean their voice is louder to talk.

“That’s what I’ll say. I’m more than happy to have the conversation with whoever wants it.”