Critique of the ATP Cup: women's tournament, ATP points and attendance
In addition to good matches, the ATP Cup , which was held for the first time, delivered emotionally charged games. But critical voices have also spoken out about the men's team event, as the women only play the second violin and the points system is controversial.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Jan 13, 2020, 09:14 am
"The step was a little weird," said Maria Sharapova, who, like all other players at the Brisbane WTA tournament, was only allowed to hit the outside courts in the first few days of the week. The center court was reserved exclusively for the men's ATP Cup .
"You can feel that our tournament feels a bit like a second hand tournament," said Sharapova. "There are a lot of girls who deserve to appear on center court. Six of the top 10 play here."
Grand Slam champion Sloane Stephens was also critical of the organization. "It is a challenge to run the ATP Cup in parallel to a premier tournament. This is about respect. We were completely excluded from the conversation. The ATP got what it wanted. The women step aside, so it always is, "said Stephens.
And further: "Hopefully there will be adjustments next year. I understand how important the ATP Cup is. But a lot of the top 10 players have to play on the outside courts, that doesn't give the best picture."
Not everything went smoothly for men either. "Sometimes we had big problems getting training times," said Australia captain Lleyton Hewitt. Sam Stosur and Novak Djokovic, however, also want a variant of the ATP Cup on the WTA side.
ATP Cup: extra points for the world rankings
Even before the event, there was criticism from players about the format and counting of the points for the world rankings. The regulations are a thorn especially for those players who are not in the top 2 in their country and therefore could not count on individual matches.
The American Reilly Opelka, currently number 36 in the world in singles, even called the ATP Cup "pathetic" and "embarrassing". While all other players can only include 18 tournaments in their ATP ranking, there is an additional, 19th rating for participants in the ATP Cup. "This is unfair, because not everyone has the opportunity," said Opelka, who predicted a clear "0: 6, 0: 6 in 30 minutes" with weaker opponents from other countries.
And indeed: Roberto Bautista Agut missed Aleksandre Metreveli from Georgia the maximum penalty in tennis, but it took at least 73 minutes.
Last year, the Pune ATP tournament gave Doha another opportunity to play that week before qualifying for the Australian Open. However, the tournament in India was postponed for 2020.
ATP Cup in Perth: Significant audience decline
Another "victim" of the ATP Cup is the Hopman Cup, a team competition steeped in tradition, in which teams of men and women from one country are formed. This year group games of the ATP Cup were held in Perth instead.
Only 55,000 spectators came to the sessions this year, meaning that less than half of the spectators found their way to the Perth tennis stadium. Last year, over 110,000 fans saw Angelique Kerber, Roger Federer and Co. on the racket.
The ATP Cup is guaranteed until 2022, until then the games of the knockout phase are to be played in Sydney. The appointment at the beginning of the year should also remain.