Tennis Related - Off Court Serious Issues

[ti-amie]

Men's and women's tennis tours to discuss game-changing merger
Exclusive: A meeting has been arranged for later this month, in an attempt to stave off a potential Saudi takeover of the sport

By
Simon Briggs, TENNIS CORRESPONDENT, IN NEW YORK
3 September 2023 • 12:13pm

The men’s and women’s tennis tours have taken the first steps towards a historic merger, by inviting executives and tournament representatives to a two-day summit in London at the end of this month.

Three years after Roger Federer called for the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) to unite, the bosses of the two organisations – respectively Andrea Gaudenzi and Steve Simon – are finally looking to align the tours and pool their assets.

If the initiative goes to plan – and that is a big “if” – it will be a game-changer. Tennis has long been hamstrung by its disunited governance, and although the four grand slams would remain separate from any unified tour, this would still be a transformational move.

The summit comes after months of speculation about Saudi Arabia’s interest in tennis. It seems that the spectre of LIV golf, and the fear of a tennis equivalent, has prompted the tours to act with some urgency.

Another concern is the challenge from the rival player union founded by 23-times major champion Novak Djokovic – the PTPA – which has been gradually expanding its influence since its establishment four years ago.

All these moving parts have contributed to a febrile atmosphere among tennis administrators, who held non-stop meetings in New York throughout the first week of the US Open.

Men’s players may be protective over prize money
Gaudenzi and Simon called the London summit a few days ago, and still have many hurdles to clear before they can say that any merger is official. Each body has its own commercial partners and its own deals for TV rights and data rights, while some tournaments may be impractical to run as combined events.

The very word “merger” is open to many different interpretations. But as long as Gaudenzi and Simon remain committed to the idea – and can convince their respective boards of its merits – then they should be able to draw the ATP and the WTA closer and closer together, step by incremental step.

The least enthusiastic stakeholders will probably be the male players. Despite the provision of equal prize money at the majors, they earn about 75 per cent more than their female equivalents. Were the tours to become one, they would fear a financial redistribution.

Yet Gaudenzi and Simon would surely argue that, if tennis were able to act in a more cohesive manner, the size of the whole pie would soon expand.

Saudis want to host more tennis events

While the Saudi issue has been the source of much angst over the past week, Gaudenzi and Simon may also see such tensions as an opportunity, helping them to bounce tennis’s stakeholders towards a long-awaited union.

Even so, both organisations must still work out a strategy for dealing with the Middle East. Until late last week, the WTA were leaning towards staging their finals event in Riyadh in seven weeks’ time. But public opposition from the likes of Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert – who have both highlighted Saudi Arabia’s regressive stance on women – appears to have changed the mood. The tournament is now expected to be held in the Czech Republic, although there is also a Mexican bid in play.

As for the ATP, they have discussed Saudi Arabia’s desire to become part of the tennis establishment – and specifically to add a 10th Masters 1000 event in Riyadh to the nine which already make up the main pegs of the men’s tour.

But when would the new Masters tournament be played? There is hardly any space in the calendar, however much the ATP would like to bring the Saudis inside the tent. Admittedly, the Next Gen ATP Finals were recently awarded to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia’s second city, but that may not be enough to satisfy them.

Potential scheduling options for a 10th Masters include October, December and early January, but all three have drawbacks. The first would involve squeezing Riyadh between two existing Masters in Shanghai and Paris, while the second would extend a season that is already seen as overlong. The third would be a direct challenge to Tennis Australia’s new United Cup event.

Another issue is the ATP’s long history with Qatar, which has staged a 250-point tournament in Doha for the past 30 years. Nasser Al-Khelaifi – the former Futures-level player who now runs the Qatar Tennis Federation as well as the Paris Saint-Germain football club – could potentially cause trouble if a new event in Riyadh were to overshadow his.

‘One voice, women and men together’

These are turbulent times in the world of tennis, but potentially promising ones as well. Any progress on a unified tour would no doubt please Federer, who published a tweet in April 2020 asking: “Am I the only one thinking that now is the time for men’s and women’s tennis to be united and come together as one?”

His question did not impress Nick Kyrgios, who reflected the overall feeling of the men’s locker room when he immediately responded with the answer: “Yes”.

But Billie Jean King, who originally founded the WTA 50 years ago, was more receptive. “I agree,” she wrote, “and have been saying so since the early 1970s. One voice, women and men together, has long been my vision for tennis. The WTA on its own was always Plan B. I’m glad we are on the same page. Let’s make it happen.”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/2023 ... breakaway/

[ashkor87]

Looks like the wta is surrendering the battle BJK started 50 years ago..it can only be bad for the women..they will become second-class citizens again. We already know the media behaves as if only men's matches matter...if it is left to the media market, the women may as well take up pickleball..I still don't get why the WTA is headed by a man. Let us hope his ego will prevent this deal from happening!!

[FredX]

Looks like the wta is surrendering the battle BJK started 50 years ago..it can only be bad for the women..they will become second-class citizens again. We already know the media behaves as if only men's matches matter...if it is left to the media market, the women may as well take up pickleball..I still don't get why the WTA is headed by a man. Let us hope his ego will prevent this deal from happening!!

Though it would seem BJK disagrees.

Men's tennis is more popular and profitable than women's tennis, so if the goal is to equalize pay, the money has to come from somewhere. If it doesn't come from repressive regimes looking for a PR overhaul, then where does it come from except the larger overall tennis industry? - i.e. redistributing the revenue from the more profitable men's tour to expand the sport overall. I assume the idea is that everyone stands to make more money in the long run, but it could mean the men will have to give up their oversized share of the pie now in the short term - which seems to be where the resistance is coming from.

While there is a pay disparity between men and women tennis players, there is less of it than in other sports that have an independent professional women's league, and I can only think that's because of high profile major tournaments that showcase both men and women players and have made people like the Williams sisters into stars. Yesterday ESPN featured Coco instead of Tiafoe , and Saturday they featured women's doubles on the third largest court. Obviously this is because of Coco's star power, but that's where it begins, and seems to happen less often when say the Tennis Channel is showing smaller men's and women's tournaments happening at the same time. I can only think a move to make more high profile combined events - starting with the Masters - will only help the profile of the women's game and create more leeway to redistribute the profits of the whole industry, as long as some sort of pay guarantees are met in the negotiations, which I can't imagine not happening if the WTA agrees to it.

A separate tour was absolutely necessary in the days of Jack Kramer, and was obviously an important step for professional women's tennis, but I'm not sure it makes the most sense today.

[meganfernandez]

Would this be the second sports league to combine men and women after the NBA? If that even counts.


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[ponchi101]

Name me one time in history in which one group of people took a pay cut so that another, different group of people, would get more? Meaning, direcly, that the men of the ATP would subsidize the women of the WTA.
Which I don't think is the concept of equality people are looking for.

[nelslus]

I mean- I wish, every now and then, people would agree to do the right thing. Because- you know- it's the right thing.

In any case, at the very least, it is beyond insulting that at the combined events (Cincinnati, Montreal, etc.) there is such a disparity in the pay. That should be fixed immediately.

I've always felt that, with a combined tour, and really great management teams, PR teams (etc), all players would benefit.

But, with capitalism, sexism, and all that- it just ain't likely to happen. Profoundly sad to me. All of this has been going on for so long.

[FredX]

Name me one time in history in which one group of people took a pay cut so that another, different group of people, would get more? Meaning, direcly, that the men of the ATP would subsidize the women of the WTA.
Which I don't think is the concept of equality people are looking for.

Ideally, not necessarily a pay cut long term, but certainly a pay percentage reduction. That's essentially what equal prize money at the US Open is, right? I would guess the answer is convincing the men that this will be good for the sport, and that even if they are getting a smaller proportion, everyone will end up making more money in the end because of increased revenue all around. That's the carrot. The stick is making it more and more untenable for your personal brand to be against equal pay, which of course effects endorsements etc.

[ponchi101]

Serious question, I am not putting anyone on.
Should the two tours merge and all prize money be set to be the same by decree? Without any analysis of the economics?

[nelslus]

Serious question, I am not putting anyone on.
Should the two tours merge and all prize money be set to be the same by decree? Without any analysis of the economics?

I mean, you know my answer- yes. But, LOL, not like my opinion (or, obviously, any of our opinions) makes any difference in such matters.

[meganfernandez]

Name me one time in history in which one group of people took a pay cut so that another, different group of people, would get more? Meaning, direcly, that the men of the ATP would subsidize the women of the WTA.
Which I don't think is the concept of equality people are looking for.

Then pay the stars more money, regardless of gender. Pay Coco a lot more than Rune, Ruud, Rublev or Fritz.

Sexism is the main reason fans and sponsors devalue women’s sports. It’s the long tail from a time whose values and attitude toward women
we now disavow in theory, but not fully in practice. So yes, please compensate for the lingering injustice.

And we won’t complain when Ruud gets more than his share based on popularity.


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[skatingfan]

Serious question, I am not putting anyone on.
Should the two tours merge and all prize money be set to be the same by decree? Without any analysis of the economics?

Based on stats like this, yes because the economics already support paying the athletes more.

[ashkor87]

Name me one time in history in which one group of people took a pay cut so that another, different group of people, would get more? Meaning, direcly, that the men of the ATP would subsidize the women of the WTA.
Which I don't think is the concept of equality people are looking for.

Then pay the stars more money, regardless of gender. Pay Coco a lot more than Rune, Ruud, Rublev or Fritz.

Sexism is the main reason fans and sponsors devalue women’s sports. It’s the long tail from a time whose values and attitude toward women
we now disavow in theory, but not fully in practice. So yes, please compensate for the lingering injustice.

And we won’t complain when Ruud gets more than his share based on popularity.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Totally agree

[meganfernandez]

Serious question, I am not putting anyone on.
Should the two tours merge and all prize money be set to be the same by decree? Without any analysis of the economics?

I'd say they should merge with the primary goals of:

establishing maximum value for their constituents - players, fans, host sites, and sponsors;
modeling equality among and respect for all athletes;
growing the sport worldwide;
something about being devoted to fairness in competition.

Then everything flows from there. Establish a mission/vision and values and do whatever economic analysis serves the purpose.

It's a great opportunity to demonstrate to the world that tennis can lead the way in equality, is dedicated to the highest human values, and is visionary and bold. There's something about tennis that lends itself to this ambition. There's no clock in tennis - you don't stop until the job is done, the last point earned. The same can be said for the fight for equality. I think tennis is a game of mutual respect and maybe even honor - you don't steal the ball or a base, for instance. Is breaking someone's serve the same thing? Maybe I am being too grandiose or mawkish about this, but in a way tennis is the perfect game, and from it can some a model of perfection for how to treat each other. Kind of riffing here.

[ashkor87]

I totally endorse your view, @meganfernandez..you are not riffing..

[skatingfan]