Andrea Gaudenzi from January 2020 new ATP President
The new ATP president is Andrea Gauenzi. The Italian succeeds Chris Kermode.
by SID
last edit: Oct 24, 2019, 02:11 pm
The former tennis pro Andrea Gaudenzi, once in the top 20 in the world, is from January 1, 2020 new president of the players' association ATP. The 46-year-old Italian, who has two university degrees in law and economics, had made a name for himself in the music business after ending his career as an entrepreneur. He succeeds the Englishman Chris Kermode.
His already announced departure earlier this year had split the ATP. After the controversy among the top stars, the ATP Tournament Council expressed "deep disappointment" over the result of the vote in the board, which had spoken out against Kermode. This had "excellent work done," it said in the statement of the tournament representatives. He has since 2014 for "unprecedented growth to the benefit of tournaments and players" worried.
Djokovic pleased
Also, the three players representatives (Justin Gimelstob, David Edges, Alex Inglot) in the seven-headed ATP board had voted against the extension of Kermodes expiring contract. In the influential players' council, the world number one Novak Djokovic (Serbia) had pleaded for a change at the top of the ATP. Among others Rafael Nadal (Spain) and Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland), who are not members of the committee, formed the opposition.
Djokovic said after the Gaudenzis election on Thursday in London pleased about the result. "As a former player, he has walked in our shoes, and he has become a successful entrepreneur after his tennis career," Djokovic said: "He has all the qualities to lead the ATP Tour and we look forward to working with him."