The prospect of merging the ATP and WTA Tour’s could solve a series of problems but it won’t address a key issue within the sport, according to the head of the Professional Tennis Players Association.
Ahmad Nassar is currently serving as the Executive Director of the PTPA. An organization that was co-founded by 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil which campaigns for players to have a greater say in the decision-making process. It was formally launched in 2021 as a Canadian non-profit. Among those on its committee are Ons Jabeur and Hubert Hurkacz.
The PTPA functions independently of that of tennis’ governing bodies and trying to find a common ground at times has been challenging. In a recent interview, ATP CEO Andrea Gaudenzi said he wasn’t against the concept of a player union forming but claims that it creates more ‘fragmentation’ in the sport than needed.
Gaudenzi has previously spoken in favour of working closer with the WTA Tour in the future with some hoping for a sort of merger to form. However, such a move would take months or even years due to the complexity of combining two different organizations. Recently there have been reports of both the ATP and WTA holding merger-related talks but neither of them has confirmed this. Furthermore, the business newspaper City A.M. claims these meetings were focused solely on grouping their media rights and nothing else.
“An ATP-WTA merger would make a lot of sense, with some fairly important caveats,” Nassar told Ubitennis via email.
“First and foremost, players still have a need for an independent player-only voice, regardless of whether the tours remain separate or merge. The consolidation of tours would not change the fact that the ATP and WTA are simultaneously juggling the interests of players, tournament owners, private equity investors and others.”
Both the ATP and WTA have played down the necessity for an independent body for players’ rights by arguing that they each have their own player council. A group of elected individuals chosen to speak on behalf of their peers when it comes to addressing various subjects. Djokovic was the former president of the ATP Players Council before quitting to form the PTPA.
However, Nassar has dismissed such an argument given his experience. He is the former president of the National Football League Players Incorporated (NFL Players Inc.) which is the licensing and marketing subsidiary league. He also worked for three years as the Founding CEO of OneTeam Partners.
“The tours’ routine of pretending to adequately represent the players is not working,” he said. “Players will always have a need for a separate entity that is 100% dedicated to their voice, their empowerment, and their interests, which is exactly why the PTPA exists. This helps the entire sport improve over the long-term, similar to other sports.”
“Should a merger occur, we (the PTPA) would need to ensure equity across the tour. There must be equal prize money, facilities, accommodations, rules & regulations, scheduling processes, and other standards across the men’s and women’s player pools should they compete on the same tour.’
“The PTPA has advocated for increased equity across tours since its founding, and if a merger occurs, we would remain focused on holding stakeholders accountable in providing players with a unified, equitable product. Anything less would be inexcusable.”
Even if there would one day be a merger in tennis, it would still not solve issues concerning the four Grand Slams which are each governed by themselves. The four tournaments are the pinnacle events of tennis which generate millions. According to Forbes, the 2022 US Open had a revenue of more than $472M and Wimbledon’s that same year was $440m based on information from their financial documents.
“Merging tours doesn’t address the elephant in the room: the Grand Slams,” Nassar states.
“At the end of the day, the Grand Slams still command the most revenue, attention, and influence. If fragmentation is the tours’ concern, consolidating into one stronger, more unified product is a first step, but certainly not a final solution to maximizing tennis’ earning power, relevance and longevity.”
PTPA membership is available for all professional players and it is free to join with no obligations required, according to their website. The exact number of active members has never been made public. In August 2022 they raised US$26 million in a funding round co-led by US billionaire and hedge fund manager Bill Ackman.
The second part of Ubitennis’ interview with Nassar concerning Saudi Arabia will be published shortly.
