Roger Federer’s push to merge men’s and women’s tennis tours

Roger Federer sent the tenis world into meltdown but Nick Kyrgios took a shot at the Swiss star, questioning his radical proposal.

Roger Federer used a string of tweets to call for the merger of the governing bodies for the men’s and women’s professional tennis tours, sparking a conversation among players and fans.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion’s comments drew plenty of support, including from rival Rafael Nadal and 12-time major singles champion Billie Jean King, who founded the WTA and has long said men and women should share one tour.

“Am I the only one thinking that now is the time for men’s and women’s tennis to be united and come together as one?” Federer wrote, leading to a flurry of responses online.

Aussie legend Rennae Stubbs, two-time major winner Simona Halep and Spanish star Garbine Muguruza were among those to throw their support behind Federer as his original tweet sent the tennis world into meltdown, garnering more than 40,000 “likes”.

However, Australia’s Nick Kyrgios didn’t seem to jump on board with the idea. He tweeted in response to Federer’s proposal, suggesting the Swiss was in fact the only person thinking it was a good idea for the ATP and WTA to merge.

The Canberra product then questioned if anyone had asked those on the ATP Tour whether they agreed with Federer’s radical revamp.

Yes

— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) April 22, 2020

Did anyone ask the majority of the ATP what they think about merging with the WTA and how it is good for us?

— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) April 22, 2020

Soon after Federer’s series of tweets, new ATP boss Andrea Gaudenzi confirmed there was interest in the 38-year-old’s plea.

“Our sport has a big opportunity if we can come together in the spirit of collaboration and unity,” he said.

“Recent co-operation between governing bodies has only strengthened my belief that a unified sport is the surest way to maximise our potential and to deliver an optimal experience for fans on-site, on television & online.

“To that end, I welcome the views of our players. Tennis has always led the way when it comes to putting men and women together on the biggest stages — it’s one of our strengths and sets us apart from many other sports.

“We look forward to continued collaboration and discussions with the WTA and other stakeholders across all aspects of our business.”

The professional era in tennis started in 1968, and the ATP was founded in 1972, running the men’s game since. The women’s WTA began a year later.

The idea, not new, but spotlighted by Federer: combine the two into a single body. “It probably should have happened a long time ago,” Federer wrote. “But maybe now is really the time.”

King agreed, noting the suspension of the tours until at least mid-July because of the coronavirus pandemic might offer an opportunity to study restructuring tennis.

“Now I think it’s a possibility. A real possibility. And why not?” King said. “I just think this would be so huge for our sport. I’m just so happy Roger said something.”

Serena Williams and Roger Federer.

Nadal, a 19-time major champion, wrote on Twitter to Federer: “As you know per our discussions, I completely agree that it would be great to get out of this world crisis with the union of men’s and women’s tennis in one only organisation.”

There has never been a united tennis tour, but male and female players do play at the same tournaments several times each year, including at the four Grand Slam tournaments.

Much of the season, however, they are completely separate.

“It’s too confusing for the fans when there are different ranking systems, different logos, different websites, different tournament categories,” Federer said in a response to a reader’s comment.

He emphasised he was “not talking about merging competition on the court” but streamlining the leadership and organisation of tennis.

“These are tough times in every sport,” Federer said, “and we can come out of this with 2 weakened bodies or 1 stronger body.”

Three-time Grand Slam winner Stanislas Wawrinka claimed discussions are underway regarding the move with the ATP’s chairman Gaudenzi.

“It was not just a comment like that, there is more talk behind that. Gaudenzi at the ATP was already talking about it,” he said during an Instagram Live with 18-time Grand Slam champion Chris Evert.

Belinda Bencic and Roger Federer. (AAP Image/Tony McDonough)

Federer’s statements came a day after the ATP and WTA announced they were joining with the four Grand Slam tournaments and the International Tennis Federation to form a relief fund that will offer money to lower-ranked players in need of financial help because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

As with plenty of other industries, tennis has been hit hard by the recent economic downturn because of a loss of income from things like ticket sales and media rights.