The Future of Tennis: A Possible Revolution in the Making

Serbian Novak Djokovic poses next to his Roland Garros trophy. (REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne)

It was not so long ago that various changes that tennis could undergo in the coming years began to resonate. First, a possible merger with the women’s circuit (the WTA), accusing that it was going through financial problems, something that was denied by the entity itself. Later, there was the rumor of the entry of Saudi Arabia to be assigned a Masters 1,000 to the detriment of the current Miami or Madrid. The latter is not in the wrong direction from the latest rumor that has come to light: a new circuit that will host the four Grand Slams (Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and US Open) and the 1,000 Masters.

A report by The Athletic anticipated what could be the greatest tennis revolution since the 1960s. The organization of the circuit’s four major events is outside the ATP, which organizes the Masters, the 500 and 250 prizes, as well as the Finals. . Now, the possibility of the majors organization partnering with other better-known tournaments to become a ‘premium league’ is being considered. The executive director of the ATP Tour, Andrea Gaudenzi, stated two weeks ago in Turin that “for sport, closing the gap between the Masters and the Slams is good for everyone,” since now, “there is a very big gap.”

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FWIW, hearing more chatter about the Slams joining to acquire 10 biggest events, forming a super tour (with Saudi Arabia getting 10th event)…leaving @atp and @WTA to run 500s and year-end finals…lot of hurdles to clear but this would be the proverbial game-changer…stay tuned

— Jon Wertheim (@jon_wertheim) November 26, 2023

This union would lead to greater homogenization of the circuit. There would be no change in weight on the balls between tournaments, there would be a less saturated calendar that would avoid injuries due to overuse, and also a greater distribution of prizes. It would also mean a gain for television rights, which would be negotiated together and not separately, as is currently the case.

They would be facing what could be a Saudi strategy similar to the one it executed with the LIV Golf circuit, backed by the Saudi country. With this, he separated the best golfers on the PGA Tour, which led to a legal battle causing a merger, which is still taking hold. The seven governing bodies that oversee tennis want to prevent precisely this from happening in tennis, from Saudi creating an alternative circuit that takes away the big stars. Something similar to what is happening with football, where top footballers such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema and Neymar have gone to the Arab country.

Next week Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) will host the Next Gen ATP Finals, with great financial prizes for the next generation. But, it is true that so far, the Saudis have little representation on the circuit. They limit themselves to organizing the World Tennis League and other exhibitions, such as the Riyadh Season Cup next December, which Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic will attend. The incorporation of a Masters 1,000 in the country, to the detriment of one of the existing ones, could take place at the beginning of the season, just before the first Grand Slam of the year. This would also put preparatory tournaments such as the United Cup in danger.

Senior tennis officials expected a proposal from Grand Slams executives in the week of the ATP Finals, but they claimed they needed more time to finalize their proposal, which was expected at the beginning of the year, when the competition returns. in Melbourne. The Slams have yet to sign the next three-year agreement with the tours to codify the distribution of points, however, as everything seems to point to a change, it does not make sense to sign anything yet, even if that means starting the season without a closed agreement .

2023-11-29 12:29:45
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