Henman and Hewitt are among a depleted field in Paris

The tough schedule has been widely blamed for a succession of high-profile withdrawals in 2004.

"When you look at tennis in all honesty, it's pretty fragmented isn't it?" said Henman.

"Everybody needs to come together, put egos and personal issues aside and say: 'How can we make the game better?'."

Henman believes the timing of the four Grand Slam tournaments is an obvious area for discussion.

"You know the first tournament of the year is a Grand Slam, then we don't play one for six months, then we play two in 15 days."

I know for a fact there are not enough guys that are fit enough going into the Australian Open Lleyton Hewitt

Organisers of the European ATP Masters Series events met in Paris on Tuesday to discuss the wave of withdrawals.

They decided to press the ATP, the governing body, to introduce sanctions in order to protect the integrity of the events.

"We have discussed the problem in depth and we have leads we're determined to follow," said Paris Masters director Alain Riou.

"But it's too early to announce any decision."

Andre Agassi and David Nalbandian withdrew on the eve of the Paris event with injuries, to the consternation of tournament organisers, but Hewitt defended the players.

"Obviously, I don't know the reasons for Agassi and Nalbandian but it's a bloody long year for everyone," said the Australian.

"There's obviously something wrong.

Have Your Say Is the schedule wrong?

"I think the ITF and the ATP have to work together a lot more but I've been saying it for a few years now. And, you know, I haven't seen a lot of answers.

"I think we have to have a longer break at the end of the year.

"I know for a fact there are not enough guys that are fit enough going into the Australian Open and the Australian summer."

Andy Roddick also defended the late withdrawals of his fellow players at recent Masters events.

"I would rather pull out of an event than injure myself. If they can't understand the way an athlete works, it's too bad," said the American.

"In what other sport do you play 11 months of the year?"

Last weekend, ATP chief Mark Miles rejected suggestions the calendar was too crowded and said players had only themselves to blame for burnout because they chose to compete in too many tournaments.