On this, the leaders of tennis can agree: There is more money out there to be made. And they see eye-to-eye on this, too: The sport’s structure could stand to change.
However, it is open to discussion how, when and why things might change — and there is plenty of that happening now behind closed doors, conversations and negotiations about the future of tennis among the people who run the Grand Slam tournaments and other events, the WTA and ATP professional tours, the players, their agents and others with a hand in the sport, including Saudi Arabia’s Private Investment Fund (PIF), the entity behind LIV Golf.
There are two main proposals, both aimed at increasing revenue, seeking support at the moment:
Photo: Reuters
The first, driven by the four Slams, would get rid of the WTA-ATP structure and create a new premier tour for about 100 women and 100 men and a lower-level contenders tour with 75 to 100 tournaments open to about 200 women and 200 men, with all events hosting both genders with equal prize money.
The second, driven by the ATP, would form a venture with the WTA to sell media rights and sponsorships, but keep two separate tours for playing purposes, while bringing in an infusion of cash from the PIF in part by placing a Masters 1000 event in Saudi Arabia.
WHY NOW?
Why is this happening now? The sport is “underperforming,” to use a word offered by Lew Sherr, the chief executive officer of the US Tennis Association, which runs the US Open.
In a joint interview this week with Sally Bolton — CEO of the All England Club, which runs Wimbledon — Sherr said that underperformance is why the four most prestigious and most-watched tennis tournaments, a quartet that includes the Australian Open and French Open, are working together in what he called an “unprecedented way” in an effort “to unlock what we think is an enormous potential.”
Making tennis more fan-friendly — an easier-to-understand and shorter season, for example, and more consistency in TV broadcasts from week to week — could bring about US$1 billion in added annual value, on top of the sport’s current revenue of about US$2.5 billion by way of rights packages and increased sponsorship deals that could arise from more viewership, Bolton said.
Nothing would happen “anytime before 2026,” but she added that the project “can move relatively quickly” if they get others to buy in.
“The good news is we’re sitting on the cusp of what could be generational change for the better for a global sport,” said Ahmad Nassar, executive director of the Professional Tennis Players Association, a group cofounded by 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic to represent the sport’s athletes. “And that’s exciting and a huge opportunity — as long as we don’t squander it.”
The ATP and WTA say they are looking into forming a combined “commercial entity,” but otherwise are mostly staying mum publicly about what potentially is a significant moment for both.
PIF DEAL
The ATP recently struck a deal with the PIF that includes naming rights for the men’s rankings; that followed the placement of a year-end tournament for young players in Saudi Arabia.
There already is a provision to allow the ATP to add a 10th Masters tournament and Saudi Arabia could get that spot on the calendar.
The WTA is expected to close a deal to put its annual season-ending championship in Saudi Arabia and has also described itself, through a spokesperson, as exploring “whether we can bring greater alignment across the sport ... [and] reviewing the proposals that are being put forth by Saudi Arabia and the Grand Slams. There is a wave of interest in women’s sport from fans and partners around the world, and we want to ensure that women’s tennis is even bigger and better in the future.”
A PIF spokesperson declined to comment.
Bolton and Sherr said that interviews with more than 5,000 fans around the world beginning in 2021 showed that about 70 percent only watch the Slams.
“The conclusion was that the season lacks consequence, that tennis is confusing to follow, and that fans don’t understand which tournaments matter, and which don’t, at any given point in the season,” Sherr said. “They know the four Slams, but other than that, there’s not a compelling narrative. We dilute and compete with ourselves by having two, three, four, five, six tournaments going on at any one point in time. And we’re competing with our own product.”
They made clear, though, that they do not want to run the sport themselves.
“Certainly not,” Bolton said.
Instead, they want a revamped, centralized leadership organization, with a board and a chairperson running things — perhaps a single commissioner — rather than today’s setup of seven governing bodies: the federations that run the four Grand Slams, the two tours, plus the International Tennis Federation.
MAIN TIER
The main tier would have the four Slam events, 10 other main tournaments and a year-end finals. There would be a “tour card” similar to what the PGA Tour has for golf, but also some sort of relegation-and-promotion system akin to European soccer leagues that would allow for movement between the premier and contender levels. There would be an international team event and a longer off-season of at least two months.
“The current model just isn’t sustainable and could be doing much, much better. And so for us, the premier tour is one lever that allows us to address what’s ailing the entirety of the sport,” Sherr said. “This is not a short-term Band-Aid. This is about really addressing how to deliver the sport to fans in a much more impactful way.”
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