Australia at forefront of tennis civil war

Tennis Australia has struck a deal with the ATP to host a $20m World Team Cup event from 2020.

Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley: ‘It will be a great result to be able to stage the ATP World Team Cup within the current calendar while significantly improving player prizemoney’

Just hours before the first serve was struck to begin Wimbledon, the prospect of a civil war in tennis became a certainty, with Tennis Australia at the forefront of the agitation.

The ATP Tour announced yesterday it will push ahead with plans to run a 24-team World Team Cup in Australia from January, 2020, with prizemoney of $20 million and ranking points. The move puts it in direct dispute with the International Tennis Federation.

The move, which is certain to have significant ramifications for the look of the Australian summer of tennis, is a direct challenge to the ITF, which devised plans for a similar format for the Davis Cup.

The radical overhaul of the Australian summer calendar, the 24-team showpiece is likely to spell the death knell for the Sydney and Brisbane International men’s events and is seen as direct challenge to the ITF, which devised plans for a similar format for the Davis Cup.

ATP chairman Chris Kermode believes the resurrection of the WTC, which last ran in Dusseldorf in 2012, will launch the new season in style.

“This event will enable us to kick off our season with a major team event, with minimal impact on existing player schedules at the start of the year,” Kermode said.

“We believe this outcome will deliver long-term sustainability, not only financially, but also from a players’ health perspective, which is critical.

“This event has new potential and we now look forward to working together with Tennis Australia in bringing our vision to fruition.”

The Australian revealed last September that TA had a strong interest in hosting the event, even if it had an impact on the local tennis scene through January, to ensure the nation’s global dominance of the sport through the month.

Craig Tiley, the chief executive of TA, described it as an “exciting new era in men’s tennis”.

“The world’s top players will continue to start their year in Australia in a format that we believe will deeply engage the fans across Australia and throughout the world,” he said.

“It will be a great result to be able to stage the ATP World Team Cup within the current calendar while significantly improving player prizemoney.”

If the ITF’s plans to reshape the Davis Cup earn approval at a meeting in Florida next month, it would mean the world’s best men will play in two separate representative events within a six-week window, one to finish the season and one to begin it.