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Walkouts and resignations in recent weeks have
caused friction in the corridors of power and Briton Alex Inglot
said the sport could be in line for a shake-up, including the
creation of new leadership roles, and the introduction of
external experts to help break deadlock in discussions.
Inglot would also like to see fixed-term limits for leaders; a
clear split between the chairman and the presidential roles –
currently performed as one; and the creation of an overriding,
agreed philosophy or roadmap to help shape the future direction
and growth of the sport.
"Let's be frank here, the product is fantastic," Inglot said
while sitting in the sunshine on the players' terrace at
Wimbledon. "We've got incredible legends still on court, we've
got a fantastic pipeline of tomorrow's talent, and we've got
incredible stages for them to perform on.
"We've got passionate fans, the hills here in Wimbledon are
heaving, so we're in no emergency scenario. But can we make a
few tweaks to make sure that the structures and the governance
and the processes are as efficient and as professional as
possible to really squeeze the juice out of what we have?
"Yeah. I think we can. I think we can always improve. Whether
it's governance and processes, communication and transparency,
whether it's reviewing and addressing influences, those are
things that I feel strongly about, that I told the (ATP) Council
I would focus on and that we can improve on."
Buffeted by a handful of resignations and internal disagreements
in recent weeks, the ATP organizes and runs men's professional
tennis as a de facto joint-venture between the players and the
events. Both sets have representatives on the ATP board, with
Inglot one of those representing the players' interests.
"Generally, the reality is that there are only a few big issues
that are pretty much zero-sum games," Inglot said, highlighting
some of the lightning-rods for conflict in the board room.
"Whether it's prize money, whether it's changes to the calendar,
whether it's reviewing formats or things like that. So in those
situations where interests are intrinsically differing, they
cause frustration and friction almost by definition," the Briton
added.
DISTINCT PARTS
The ATP earlier this year decided not to renew Chairman and
President Chris Kermode's three-year term when it ends this
year, in a move which split players' opinion. Some, including
Rafa Nadal, spoke out, saying a change at the top would slow the
process of improving the sport.
Inglot was one who voted to end his fellow Briton's tenure, and
wants the ATP to split Kermode's role into two distinct parts –
chairman on the one hand, and president or CEO on the other.
"I spoke to over 40 individuals, from within tennis, as well as
experts from other sports to objectively assess where we were
leadership wise. Should we be splitting the role of the chairman
and the president/CEO? For me, even on a pure European corporate
governance model, that seems to make sense," said the lawyer.
"I believe that the organization has now grown to such a size,
the sport has grown to such a size and the entertainment
environment we're in is so evolved, that I think splitting the
roles does make sense, where you have the chairman who can focus
on stakeholder management, is focused on running the board,
managing the board, and they can focus on really driving a
vision that can really bind everyone together. And then we can
have a president/CEO who is definitely inputting into the
vision, but who is also managing the team, operationally, and
can focus on delivering the finalised vision.”
Inglot said the ATP was already in talks with a number of
people. "We've already had a few interviews and we've come
across some really great people. Some of them are tennis, I
wouldn't say insiders, but people who really understand tennis
already because they have some relationships. But then we’ve
also got people who are from outside sport and tennis and they
are offering some really interesting perspectives.
"So I'm actually very optimistic that we're going to find a
really interesting combination for our leadership going forward.
We've seen some really bright individuals. It makes me very
hopeful. We've got a few more phases, a few more first rounds to
go, but we're already seeing some really creative, talented
people who are setting out some really interesting propositions.
"This is why I remain hopeful... there's no doubt that we've had
some troubles. We've got a new board, or half a new board, we've
pushed forward with a new leadership structure because there's
going to be a split role, and individuals coming in the next few
months. It's a growth phase and, as in other walks of life,
there are growing pains.
"There's a little bit of pain here and things are bubbling away
a little bit perhaps more than they would normally. But we are
in good shape. Speaking to these candidates, they are really
trying to shift the paradigm, they are disruptive people and
they're like, 'I see more opportunity... I think the ATP are not
realizing their full potential'.
"There are really exciting conversations going on. The
ingredients are there, the goodwill seems to be growing. I'm
encouraged. That doesn't mean it's going to be plain sailing, it
doesn't mean everything is going to be fine from today or
tomorrow onwards. There will be growing pains, there will be
hiccups but I'm positive."
(Reporting by Ossian Shine: Editing by Ken Ferris)
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