- WTA under pressure over possible lucrative hosting rights deal for WTA Finals with Saudi Arabia
- ATP moving forward with its own plan to merge with the WTA Tour
The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) is open to the idea of combining with the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) to create a new elite tournament circuit, according to The Telegraph.
The proposal, which was first reported last November, would see between 11 and 14 combined tournaments make up a new elite ‘Premium Tour’ alongside the Grand Slams. Meanwhile, the remaining ATP and WTA Tour tournaments would form a secondary development tour, which would feature both male and female players who are outside of the top 100.
The Telegraph reports that WTA boss Steve Simon is willing to consider the project, as it would ensure female players would receive equal pay and billing throughout the entire tennis season. It is said to have gathered momentum after Tennis Australia chief Craig Tiley and United States Tennis Association (USTA) chief executive Stacey Allaster briefed leading players on the proposal during the Australian Open.
Simon’s openness also comes amid growing pressure put on his association to not sell the hosting rights to its season-ending WTA Finals to Saudi Arabia. A vote has been postponed on this decision after tennis legends Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova both voiced their concerns about the country’s record on women’s rights in the Washington Post.
As for the ATP, it is reported by the Telegraph that the men’s tour is less keen on the plan, given its stronger financial position and ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi’s strained relationship with Tiley. The men’s tennis body already has an idea of its own to revamp the sport’s top tours and is already said to have approached the WTA over a commercial merger.
The majors, which have spent millions of dollars on consultancy fees and polling data, are expected to create a designated working group that will report back in March. Meanwhile, the ATP has opted to delay its annual tournament meeting to May.
“All the stakeholders in tennis have been working on a solution for the game,” Tiley told the Telegraph. “And it’s a journey to get to that point. The Slams are very united in their resolve, but it’s a complex problem to solve. If it wasn’t complicated, it would have been solved already.
“These ideas aren’t new. But what may be new is the motivation to give it a go, and to see if there’s that opportunity. But there’s never any guarantees [that the plan will be adopted].”