ATP Tour co-founder Bob Green: Djokovic and the PTPA have to borrow from golf
One of the co-founders of the ATP Tour, Bob Green, welcomes the formation of the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) under the leadership of Novak Djokovic . Green would set the goals differently.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Dec 08, 2021, 01:44 pm
Bob Green was a hopeful newcomer on the ATP tour in the mid-1980s, before turning to organizational matters and working as an official within the player's organization for seven years. So Green knows what makes the ATP tick. And how this could and should be changed in favor of the players. In a guest article in the Sports Business Journal , Green looked back on 1988, when the ATP Tour emerged in its current form.
Green points out that the original idea would not have been to create a 50:50 constellation between players and tournament organizers, but rather a governing body in which the tennis professionals would have the most votes and thus the greatest influence. This failed because the ATP almost went bankrupt in early 1989. And that's why the players had to agree to parity with the tournaments.
Restructuring of the ATP? Or founding a new organization?
With a view to the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) founded by Novak Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil last autumn, Green agrees with the fundamental premise of an even stronger player representation. But: The PTPA is striving for the wrong goals. It should not be the case that the players have to negotiate with the organizers (“ownership”). After all, the tennis pros are the product to be sold. And that's why they have to be in control. Green cites the PGA, the association of professional golfers, as an example of a functioning organization of this kind. On their tour, the income is distributed according to a more equitable formula than on the ATP tour.
With the current 50:50 structure, tournament organizers would have far too much power. For Green, it would be important that the PTPA be as strong as possible. He had learned from the events of 1988 that the tournaments would follow the players. If only the pressure was big enough. A threatened strike by the top players at one of the Masters 1000 events would be an effective means of exerting pressure.
As a result, Bob Green would like a restructuring within the ATP - away from the 50:50 model, towards a redistribution of power towards the players. Because then you would save yourself the need to set up a new organization, as the PTPA is currently planning.