ATP, WTA, ITF - in the future all under one roof?
A new tennis organization that unites all tours would certainly have great potential - but possibly also great risk potential.
by Stefan Bergmann
last edit: Jun 12, 2021, 06:51 pm
Some have certainly been dreaming of it for a long time, others are skeptical, but it has certainly never been thought so seriously: According to the news channel “Sky News”, concepts are being worked out how to launch a new tennis organization. The aim of these would be to merge the previous professional tours for women and men. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the cooperation between the ATP, the WTA, the four Grand Slam tournaments and the ITF has recently been more intense than ever in the history of tennis. Complex organizational and logistics challenges over the past few months had made this necessary.
Andrea Gaudenzi had already told the newspaper “Reuters” in March that a working group called the “T7 working group” had been commissioned to sound out possible adjustments in the areas of the tournament calendar, sponsoring and TV rights. "The ATP and the WTA are constantly looking for ways to bring the sport closer together so that we can offer our fans, the players and the tournaments an even better experience," said the tours in a joint statement.
As deserving of failure as the “Super League” in football?
The deliberations and negotiations are of course still at a very early stage. However, one company has already shown clear interest. The private equity firm CVC wants to jump on board the newly planned "luxury freighter" with a minority stake of 600 million US dollars. CVC is also the owner of the Formula One Group, which is responsible for the marketing and rights management of the largest motorsport series in the world. Experience is clearly present in this direction.
Nevertheless, there are many questions that will certainly not be easy to answer: What effects would the new structures have on the future and challenger level? How much money will be invested in the junior tour in the future? Isn't there a risk that the capital interests of the individual interest groups will come to the fore. You probably don't need an elitist tour based on the example of the "Super League" in football, which has justifiably failed. Sensible synergies such as the alignment of the various rankings would, however, certainly be more popular.
CVC Capital Partners is an international financial company based in Luxembourg. It is one of the ten largest private equity companies worldwide. CVC holds a majority stake in numerous well-known companies such as Breitling SA, Samsonite and Perfumery Douglas. In the sports sector, the aforementioned Formula One Group as well as the betting providers Tipico and Sky Bet belong to the portfolio.