Dirk Hordoff, vice president of the German Tennis Federation, said Roger Federer’s suggestion that the ATP and WTA circuits should be merged was shortsighted and a way to get more Twitter followers.
Hordoff is a well-known tennis administrator and has also coached Rainer Schuttler, Janko Tipsarevic and Vasek Pospisil in the past. Speaking to the Stats Platform, Hordoff said: “This is a short thought.
It’s not sufficient. First you have to start with the ITF [Fédération internationale de tennis] and Grand Slam tournaments ”. With the merger of ATP and WTA, no problems have been resolved yet.
It is also essential to make this kind of proposition without the intervention of the media. He just needs more followers on his Twitter account. So he uses a proposition without substance. I am in favor of an in-depth discussion on the whole issue.
But a message on Twitter cannot seriously advance this. “Federer is already one of the most followed tennis players on social media. He has 12.7 million followers on Twitter.
According to an analysis of the Socialbakers website, the Swiss tennis legend gained only around 1,000 new subscribers after the publication of his tweet earlier this week. Federer’s suggestion has received support from various quarters, including Rafael Nadal, Billie Jean King, Simona Halep, Petra Kvitova as well as ATP and WTA circuit heads – Andrea Gaudenzi and Steve Simon.
Australian Nick Kyrgios was not in favor of Federer’s idea. Vasek Pospisil said ATP has been working on this idea for a very long time, while WTA player Jamie Hampton said Federer & Nadal have been trying to piggyback on an idea proposed by Billie Jean King for many years now.
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