|
The ATP said its strategic plan for widespread reform has
received the green light, in a move that is likely to end the
bitter wrangling over prize money and profit-sharing in men's
tennis.
This first phase of the ATP's OneVision plan -- primarily aimed
at boosting revenue from media and television rights -- was
approved by its board after more than two years of
deliberations.
"Shifting everybody's mind into the future has been the most
difficult part," ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi told Reuters.
"But I think overall we kept being very persistent, the evidence
we provided, a lot of data, a lot of information, a lot of
material and ultimately we convinced, I wouldn't say everybody,
but the majority."
A lack of transparency has long been a cause of friction between
tournaments and players, and the issue flared again when the
coronavirus pandemic forced cuts in prize money.
But starting next year players will have access to the audited
financial statements of events, the 50-50 profit sharing formula
will be implemented and there will be increased prize money and
bonus pools due to the expansion of ATP 1000 events.
Italian Gaudenzi, a former top-20 singles player, says the sport
overly relies on ticket sales and needs structural change.
He was "happy and proud" finally to get the board's backing
after the pandemic forced all sporting bodies into crisis mode.
"It's a little bit like trying to engage employees in a
startup," the 48-year-old said in a video interview. "You give
them stock options, you give them a share of the upside and
success. That's where you create the motivation and the drive.
And that's where you create alignment."
MASTERS EXPANSION
Masters tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami already take place
as 12-day events with bigger draw sizes. Starting in 2023, the
ATP Masters events in Madrid, Rome and Shanghai will also follow
suit.
From 2025, the Canada and Cincinnati events will also transform
to 12 days.
The four Grand Slams -- the biggest events on the tennis
calendar and run independently outside the ATP or the women's
WTA -- are played over two weeks, or 15 days for the French
Open.
"It does help tennis in general if the gap between Slams and
Masters becomes a little bit smaller because you want to have
the continuity of the narrative," Gaudenzi said.
"That's a huge value, especially nowadays that players like
Apple, Amazon, Netflix... when they roll out the product, they
roll it out in 180 markets not in one. What's better than
tennis? It's 24/7, every day of the year, gender neutral, both
men and women."
Prize money at the five expanded tournaments will jump by more
than 35% between 2022 and 2025, the ATP says. The year-end bonus
pool is projected almost to double in the near term and will be
distributed between the top-30 players instead of the top-12
previously.
A new profit sharing mechanism could stand to benefit more than
140 players, based on the financial performance of tournaments.
Enjoying a massive worldwide following, tennis is governed by
seven different organisations: ATP, WTA, the four Grand Slams
and the International Tennis Federation.
The second phase of 'OneVision' aims at creating a unified
governance structure and operating model for the sport.
Gaudenzi admits it will not be easy.
"Let's say without phase one, phase two made no sense," he
added. "Sometimes it's more difficult to get the engine started.
Once you get the engine started, you're always gonna have a few
bumps in the road."
The marketing departments of the ATP and WTA were aligned at the
start of 2021 and Gaudenzi feels the "natural first step" of the
second phase will be for the men's and women's bodies to further
collaborate.
"Once you put together all the power of all the tournaments and
the content, that's what the fans want."
(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly; editing by Ossian Shine and Toby
Davis)
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
