A mega-revolution is being planned in tennis

Last weekend the tennis season at the highest level came to an end with the final of the ATP Next Gen Finals. The new tennis year starts again on January 1st, 2024: The first of a total of 63 titles on the ATP Tour will be played for in Adelaide on the 2024 ATP Tour.

The four traditional Grand Slam tournaments have been the big highlights of the tennis season for years. But a lot could change in the future. As “The Athletic” writes, a major tennis revolution is being worked on in the background.

Accordingly, the organizers of the largest tennis tournaments want to launch their own super tour. There will be 14 major events throughout the year that are part of a tour. “The Athletic” compares the possible mode with the Formula 1 World Championship.

In addition to the four Grand Slam tournaments, the previous nine Masters 1000 tournaments would be involved in this super tour. A new tournament in Saudi Arabia would be added as the 14th organizer. The aim is to strengthen these tournaments and potentially generate additional income of hundreds of millions of francs.

These plans are probably also a reaction to growing criticism from players. Top players regularly complain about not being involved in important decisions by the ATP and being poorly informed. The changing ball brands at each tournament have also recently caused a lot of criticism from the professionals.

The short regeneration times with the (too) long ATP calendar also cause a lot of criticism. The many tennis tournaments from the beginning of January to the beginning of December are also blamed for the many injuries. The organizers of the major tournaments apparently want to remedy these points of criticism with their own super tour.

The ATP only had the 500 and 250 level tournaments left. It remains to be seen whether the ATP world rankings would continue to exist and whether the ATP Finals would have a future.

It is also still unclear whether the “Super Tour” tournaments would actually be equivalent. It is not unlikely that the four Grand Slam tournaments would retain their special status. Finally, the organizers of the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open are among the initiators of the new plan.

Novak Djokovic’s 24 major titles are likely to remain a record that will be hunted for a long time. On the other hand, future generations would have the opportunity to set new records in the Super Tour.

In any case, it is still far from clear whether these plans for a tennis revolution will actually be implemented. “The Athletic” describes the plans as “progressive” and “positive,” but also writes about an ongoing process. The plans should be finalized by the Australian Open (mid-January).