By Paolo Pinto
“Tennis has to change in order to be stronger”, according to ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi.
The Nitto ATP Finals are just about to kick off and in an interview with “La Stampa” he is keen to outline the most topical expectations and challenges awaiting tennis: “The ATP Finals are definitely going to be a generational battle. It’s a pity that no Italian player has qualified. But the event will be featuring all the tennis elite: from Djokovic to Nadal, to Alcaraz. Hard to do better than this. It will be a great success. Tickets are selling fast and will soon be sold out”.
Tennis is ready for a mini revolution: several innovations are being put in place. First of all is the extension of ATP Masters 1000 to two weeks: “In golf, the difference between the Majors and the other tournaments is much smaller. In tennis the revenues of Slams are ten times higher and this gap must be bridged”. The target is to have bigger tournaments with more money, more players and more spectators.
Gaudenzi is aiming at an even more radical change: “This change starts from the Next Gen, where there will be many innovations which will be useful for the future, such as shorter sets. It’s an interesting experiment. I’ve been an entrepreneur for 15 years and I’m aware that everybody focuses on their own “garden” without looking around, without having the nerve to change and move on. I’m already noticing some positive signs. Above all the organizers of the Slams are beginning to understand that times have changed. We must be united and do our best for tennis”.
It is no secret that Gaudenzi is vying for a single governance, or at least a solid unity between the various governing bodies in the tennis world. “If you ask me who is governing tennis today, I’ll answer that there’s no one in command” he says. “Yet we have to understand that our real opponents are outside our world: other sports, or Netflix. That’s why we must stay united”.
