Footballers at this summer's Women's World Cup felt they did not receive enough rest before the tournament, according to the World Players' Union.
Fifpro surveyed players from 26 of the 32 national teams after the World Cup with two-thirds saying they believed they were not at their physical peak at the start of the competition.
More than half of players felt they had insufficient rest before the World Cup.
And 60% said their post-tournament rest was inadequate.
The Women's World Cup opened on 20 July, 54 days after the final Women's Super League match of the season. The American National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), which runs from March to November, chose not to break for the summer tournament.
Less than three weeks after the World Cup final on 20 August, 54 teams - including WSL club Arsenal - were involved in Champions League qualifying action on 6 September.
Fifpro recommends "an off-season break of four weeks, with a retraining period of six weeks".
The union said 86% of respondents had less than two weeks of rest after their World Cup campaign before rejoining their club.
One player told Fifpro the lack of recovery time was "mentally exhausting", with another adding: "I was trying to rest and prepare at the same time, which doesn't really work."
