Italian Tennis Boss Proposes Bold Move to Break ‘Scandalous’ Monopoly of Four Grand Slam Events

Angelo Binaghi, president of the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation, sided with the players in their fight for better Grand Slam revenue share. But he also used this opportunity to push for a fifth Grand Slam tournament.

Binaghi, without any doubt, has played a crucial role in turning Italy into a tennis powerhouse. He joined the federation when Italian tennis was nearly bankrupt. Binaghi oversaw the development of the system that helped raw talent like Jannik Sinner become the dominant force that he is today.

Three more players from the country, Lorenzo Musetti, Flavio Cobolli, and Luciano Darderi, are among the top 20 players. Italy also won the last three Davis Cup titles, while the women’s team emerged victorious in the previous two seasons.

The ambitious boss now wants to blow up the monopoly of the four Majors: the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open, and turn the Italian Open into a fifth Grand Slam event.

The players have our full support. It’s scandalous that we’re required by the ATP to share a bigger cut of the revenues with the players, and the four Grand Slams hand out a smaller cut. It’s shameful and creates competitive disparities, too, because the four nations (that organize the Slams) have a huge amount of money to invest in their technical sectors that other nations don’t have… I want to blow apart this monopoly.

Angelo Binaghi said (H/T: AFP and the Associated Press)

Players have been demanding 22% share of the revenues generated by the Grand Slam tournaments. After multiple failed attempts, they are threatening to boycott a Major.

We’re open to organizing a (fifth Grand Slam) anywhere in Italy — on any surface… If we’re going to aim big, we shouldn’t focus exclusively on the Foro Italico, because there are a lot of issues here in terms of transport and temporary venues.

Angelo Binaghi added

The Italian Open is underway at Foro Italico. Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz is not playing because of the wrist injury he suffered during the Barcelona Open. Home favorite Jasmine Paolini won the title last year.

Jannik Sinner is chasing history at the Italian Open

In the absence of Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner will be the heavy favorite to win the Italian Open, where last year, he lost in straight sets in the final. The Italian Open, French Open, and the Olympic gold medal are the only Big Titles Sinner has yet to win.

Sinner has been playing non-stop tennis since the Indian Wells Masters. He, in fact, is on a 28-match winning streak in Masters 1000s, with his last defeat being his third-round exit in last year’s Shanghai Masters.

I hope that I’m in a top, top physical, mental shape there. Of course, this is a very important tournament for me coming up. I had some great, great results, especially this year, on clay. This gives me confidence. In the same time, you also need to handle your body and mind in a very good way. We decide here to rest a little bit more, and then we’ll see how it goes.

Jannik Sinner said at the press conference

Sinner, who will skip the Halle Open, is aiming to become the first man to win six consecutive Masters 1000s. He will also be completing the Career Golden Masters if he wins in Rome. The four-time Major champion will face Sebastian Ofner in the opening round.

After Rome, Sinner will bid to complete the Career Grand Slam at the French Open, where he lost the final to Alcaraz last year. Earlier this week, he defeated Alexander Zverev in the Madrid Open final.

Also read: Stefanos Tsitsipas Takes Dig at Goran Ivanisevic with His Grand Slam Guarantee Remark