ATP and WTA merger set to be discussed in London in order to allegedly prevent a ‘threatening’ Saudi Arabia takeover
The respective heads of WTA and ATP have decided to meet in London later this month to discuss a potential merger.
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Novak Djokovic (L), Iga Swiatek (R) (Sources: Sky Sports, Wikipedia)
According to The Telegraph, the men’s and women’s tennis tours, namely the ATP and WTA, are set to convene a meeting later this month in order to discuss a potential merger to prevent a possible Saudi takeover of the sport. If this really does happen, it will be historic for the sport, merge the assets of both Tours, and totally end the problem of disunity in the sport. However, there will be a lot of hindrances in the process.
While the four Grand Slams have been and always will be separate entities, this merger will bring together the WTA and ATP, and the men’s and women’s tours will be organized together.
This will not only bring about cohesion between the two entities, but it will also increase the total prize pool and resources as their assets will be shared. This might finally end the problem of the gender pay gap in sports and bring about equality. Currently, the men earn about 75% more than the women in tennis. Being the major stakeholders, the men’s players might have a problem with this merger, but it is important to note that the total pie from which the prize money will be shared will also be increased if this is successful.
A major problem that this merger might face will be the fact that both bodies have their own commercial partners, TV rights, and data rights deals, and that will be difficult to find a solution to. It is being estimated that not all the Tours will be organized by the two bodies together, as that is not necessary and only the major tours are being talked about.
Apart from a possible Saudi takeover of tennis, another threat that worries the ATP and WTA is the PTPA, which was formed four years ago by 23-time Grand Slam TITLE winner Novak Djokovic. Thus, the bosses of the ATP and WTA, Andrea Gaudenzi and Steve Simon, respectively, will meet in London soon. However, nothing concrete has been decided yet.
Saudi’s takeover of the major sports in the world
The Saudi government started its attempt to take over the major sports in the world and shift their base to their nation a while ago. It started with LIV Golf, which is owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. It is a golf league that had its inaugural season in 2022 and has already taken over the world of golf fully.
Saudi Arabia has also started a full-fledged attempt to turn their football league, the Saudi Pro League, into one of the best football leagues in the world. Their campaign started with signing Cristiano Ronaldo for a whopping $207 million per season deal. They then signed world-class players like Karim Benzema, Ngolo Kante, Neymar Jr., and many more. They now have one of the best players in the world and aim to overtake leagues like the Premier League and La Liga in viewership.
It is this takeover that the Tennis world is trying so hard to stop and if the ATP and WTA merger is successful, they might be able to do that.
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Rishab Dutta
(794 Articles Published)