“The hardest part was moving to the future. But overall, I think we were very persistent and, thanks to a lot of data and information, we were not all, but convinced most,” ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi told Reuters today.
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The first phase of the plan, called “One Vision”, which focused on increasing revenue from media and television rights, was approved by the board after more than two years. Disagreements between players and tournament organizers were also complicated by the coronavirus pandemic, which forced cuts in prize money. Access to audited financial statements of sporting events should now help to increase transparency.
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The expansion of Masters tournaments should also contribute to the increase in rewards. Currently, the eight-day events in Madrid, Rome and Shanghai are expected to last 12 days from 2023 and involve more tennis players. Two years later, tournaments in Canada and Cincinnati should also join the model. Twelve-day events with 96 players in the main competition are still held only in Indian Wells and Miami.
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Masters tournaments could thus get closer to grand slams. “Tennis will generally be helped if the gap between the Grand Slams and the Masters narrows a little. It would be good to have continuity,” Gaudenzi said. In the planned five expanded tournaments, prize money is expected to increase by more than 35 percent between 2022 and 2025. According to the ATP, the amount of annual bonuses should almost double in the near future and be distributed among the top 30 players instead of the current twelve.
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In the second phase of the project, ATP will focus on creating a unified management structure and operating model with other tennis organizations. At the beginning of 2021, the marketing departments of ATP and WTA were united, and according to Gaudenzi, further close cooperation will be needed between the two organizations.
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