ATP-WTA Association: A lot of approval for Roger Federer
Women and men under one roof: Roger Federer's proposal to merge the WTA and the ATP has met with broad approval.
by SID
last edit: Apr 23, 2020, 03:29 pm
The echo was loud, it was clear - and it turned out exactly as Roger Federer had expected. Apparently casually, the Grand Slam record winner from Switzerland had given free rein to his thoughts on the future of a unified tennis world on Wednesday - women and men under one roof, that is, united in one association, which should, the future must philosophize the Swiss on Twitter.
The reactions were not long in coming. "One voice, women and men together, that has long been my vision," tweeted tennis icon Billie Jean King (76), once a co-founder of the women's association WTA. Even Rafael Nadal, not too long ago skeptical about a common association, jumped aside: It would be "great to come out of this global crisis with the unity of men's and women's tennis".
Nobody is heard more than Roger Federer
Federer acted as if a flash of inspiration had come to him these days without tournaments. "Am I the only one wondering if it wasn't time for men's and women's tennis to join forces?" He wrote. Answer: It is not. A merger of the associations WTA and ATP (men) has been discussed behind the scenes for a while, but Federer should now bring momentum to the matter. Nobody is heard as much when it comes to tennis issues.
Because of the corona crisis, the WTA and ATP tours are officially paused until July 13, and the women's tournament in Montreal (from August 10) has already been canceled. Federer now writes that sport can emerge from these difficult times "with two weakened associations or one strong association". On the other hand, it would be far too complicated for the fan if there were to continue to be different world ranking systems, logos, websites and tournament categories in the future.
"It is the right kick-off at the right time," emphasized Dirk Hordorff, internationally well-connected Vice President of the German Tennis Federation (DTB), in an interview with SID. "I hope that egos will be put aside, then it can work," he added. How big his hope is, he did not want to speculate about it: "It will be exciting to see how it goes on." Exciting because a lot of interests have to be reconciled.
Nick Kyrgios vote against
In order to unite the tennis world, it is not enough to merge WTA and ATP alone. The World Federation ITF also organizes its own tournaments, as well as the Fed Cup (women) and the Davis Cup (men). The four Grand Slam tournaments also have an enormous impact on the scene and the tournament calendar. And finally there is Federer, who, with his Team8 agency, which also oversees Alexander Zverev, organizes the continental comparison called "Laver Cup".
In fact, the opportunity is better to better regulate responsibilities and, above all, the distribution of revenue. The new ATP boss Andrea Gaudenzi is open for discussions, his colleague Steve Simon from the WTA probably also. Gaudenzi "recognized that the fragmentation of tennis is responsible for the overall low income," says Hordorff. At the moment, "the cycle has a hole, fragmentation and the unfair distribution of funds are the main problems. It is a catastrophic construction."
The first only opposite vote came from Nick Kyrgios. "We shouldn't go together," tweeted the headstrong Australian. However, he was initially unable to explain his position.