ATP and WTA chiefs set for merger talks due to fear of Saudi Arabia takeover
The ATP and WTA tennis tours are set for talks over a historic merger as they look to fend off investment from Saudi Arabia.
The Men’s and women’s tours have reportedly invited executives and tournament representatives to London for a two-day summit at the end of the month. The boss of the ATP Andrea Gaudenzi and the WTA’s Steve Simon want to bring their respective tours together, three years after Roger Federer called for a union.
The summit comes after months of speculation regarding Saudi Arabia’s interest in tennis and potentially introducing the sport’s equivalent of LIV Golf. The Telegraph reports this has prompted the tours to act with some urgency, especially with the additional challenge of the PTPA, founded by Novak Djokovic.
It is a rival player union founded by the 23-time major champion four years ago and is continuing to expand its influence. Meetings were held throughout the first week of the US Open and now a showdown meeting was confirmed for London.
For any merger between the ATP and WTA Tour to become official, some obstacles need to be cleared first. Gaudenzi and Simon will need to convince their respective boards of the advantages of forming a merger, which would help to draw the torus closer together as a result.
Novak Djokovic won Australian Open despite playing with major hamstring tear
The tours have their own commercial partners and their own deals for TV and data rights, and combining them may be difficult, at least in the initial phases of a potential merger. Another potential stumbling block may be attitude of the male players, the same report alleges. Despite having equal prize money at the majors, men still earn 75% more than their female counterparts across the tour.
If a merger were to materialise, there is a possibility that some of their financial gains may be redistributed. Gaudenzi and Simon may also see the resistance from many in the tennis world to Saudi Arabia’s involvement in the game as an opportunity to help push the game's stakeholders toward a long-awaited union.
Saudi Arabia’s influence in tennis began when it was announced the Next Gen ATP Finals would be staged in Jeddah as part of a new five-year deal. It will be held in the King Abdullah Sports City multi-use stadium from 2023 to 2027, with this year's edition taking place from November 28 to December 2.
Saudi Arabia has begun their tennis involvement by becoming the new host of the ATP Next Gen event (Julian Finney/Getty Images)The 21-and-under tournament will also see a boost in prize money, with £1.58 million ($2 million) on offer. In a statement explaining the decision, the ATP said: "The process evaluated host cities from multiple regions against criteria including venue, international connectivity, and potential to grow professional tennis in a new market.
"In addition to delivering record prize money for players, Jeddah’s successful bid, led by the Saudi Tennis Federation (STF), makes history as the first official professional tennis event to take place in Saudi Arabia. It builds on a more than 30-year presence in the Middle East for the ATP Tour."
Following confirmation that the event would relocate to Jeddah, ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi said: "The ATP Tour is truly global and exploring new markets is central to growing the game. Bringing the Next Gen ATP Finals to Jeddah is our chance to inspire new fans, in a region with a vast young population, and unite audiences around tennis."
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
