You can be accused or branded of many things, but it seems clear that Andrea Gaudenzi He is doing everything possible to change certain things or structures within the world of tennis. The incursion into the field of docuseries thanks to the agreement with Netflixthe search for a younger audience, changes in the Masters 1000… the ‘Gaudenzi era’ seeks to play a few keys to safeguard the future of racket sport. Each one will judge the effectiveness of the process, but the Italian is the first faithful believer that the direction in which tennis is heading is the correct one, and he manifests it in each public intervention. In an interview with Globo, Andrea spoke at length about very diverse and interesting aspects, explaining most of the changes that current tournaments are undergoing and being optimistic about the future of tennis, especially tennis ‘postBigThree“.
What will this sport be like after Nadal, Federer and Djokovic?
“I really believe that the current product is fantastic. We have survived the passing of the different generations, first that of Vilas, Borg, McEnroe, Wilander or Becker, then that of Agassi and Sampras. Everyone thought that there would be a great void after Agassi and Sampras, but then came Rafa, Roger and Novak, who are breaking all records, I have never heard anyone say that any player could win more Grand Slams than Sampras, and in the last 15 years we have had three players who they have surpassed him.
In general terms, we are in a great moment: we have the “older generation”, with Rafa and Novak still on the circuit; a very recent generation, the one we call NextGen, with Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz or Holger Rune, but I also think we have a great generation in between, with names like Felix Auger-Aliassime, Medvedev or Tsitsipas. All these guys are great personalities. It’s hard to improve on this, because we have three generations that are fighting for the biggest titles in the sport.”
Improved access to cameras and what the Netflix docuseries has meant
“I think it’s great content for fans. Now more than ever, especially with the digital transformation, fans are interested in seeing content that isn’t just live. They want to hear the stories of the players, of the tournaments, what what happens behind the scenes. They want to know more. We’ve seen it with Formula 1, now with golf, with tennis. We had to offer this. I think it was a great collective effort from all of Group T7, the ATP, the WTA and the Grand Slams. I hope they continue to produce more seasons and tell more stories. Maybe we’ll get more people interested in this sport, start watching more tournaments, buying tickets, etc.”
Greater transparency of ATP when distributing the profits
“I think we’ve seen a number of big changes in the last three years. The first phase of the full strategic plan, One Vision, finished last summer. It consisted of a number of new reforms, including revenue sharing and transparency. Players now have full transparency regarding tournament economics, and there is a formula that requires tournaments to pay players 50% of their winnings, this is an attempt to align our goals, which I find very productive.
In parallel, by increasing the duration of the Masters 1000, we have managed to increase the monetary base by almost 40 million dollars in this 2023. The base will grow, the annual bonuses will grow, the money of the Challengers will grow. We are trying to evolve because we value our players very much. They are the talent of our sport and they are the ones who entertain the fans, but we also have to consider that the tournaments do a great job. They are behind the spotlight to generate a correct scenario for the players. The best way to have a transparent partnership and align our interests is to work together for the good of tennis. That is the goal. I hope that this formula of transparency in the prize money will be the key to the success of the circuit in the coming years.”
Mental health in sport
“I am very pleased with how the focus has been on this issue over the last five to 10 years. When I was playing, there was no knowledge about it. Tennis is a very tough sport, especially since you are alone most of the time. most of the time. You can travel with some people from your team, but at the end of the day it is an individual sport. You travel all over the world, chances are you will lose games every week unless you are a legend. We have some tools to help the players: a telephone line and some services at their disposal. We have hired a person indefinitely to deal with the mental health of the players. I am also glad to see that players like Mardy Fish have spoken publicly, mitigating the stigma of talking about these issues. It can happen to everyone.”
