Australian Open chief Craig Tiley believes the sport needs a ‘Premium’ event combining ATP and WTA calling the current setup ‘UNHEALTHY’ 

Craig Tiley also explained the rationale behind his statement.

Australian Open chief Craig Tiley believes the sport needs a ‘Premium’ event combining ATP and WTA calling the current setup ‘UNHEALTHY’ 

Craig Tiley (Image via Fox Sports)

Tennis Australia CEO and Australian Open director Craig Tiley spoke about the current setup in the sport, terming it unhealthy. Tiley then suggested that the ATP and the WTA should come together and launch a premium event and also talked about an advocacy group for the players. 

Craig Tiley feels the scheduling of events is not right as players as well as the fans are unable to differentiate between what is premium and what is not. The Australian Open director also explained the rationale behind calling the current setup unhealthy. Tiley argued that if the current setup was healthy, the tour would have a premium event that has not “fallen off its history and lost its relevance”.

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If we were in a healthy state, we would have a premium tour. We would be all together in the opportunity. We would have a world team competition that hasn't fallen off its history and lost its relevance. If we were in a healthy state, we would have all those.
Tiley said to We Are Tennis

He then put forth the suggestion to launch such an event. He said:

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I would like to see a premium tour. I would like to see the ATP and WTA come together. I would like to see a very strong advocacy group for the players, whether it's independent or part of the tours.

Craig Tiley shares his opinion on Novak Djokovic’s PTPA

The Tennis Australia CEO was also asked about the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) run by Novak Djokovic to protect the rights of the players. Craig Tiley said that he feels such organizations only make the sport healthy and he does not mind such groups.

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Novak Djokovic and Craig Tiley (Image via InsidetheGames)
I'm not as big of a critique of the PTPA as maybe others are, because I do see an avenue, see an opportunity, and anyone that's standing up for the rights of the players, it's a good thing. 
Craig Tiley said of PTPA

The CEO of one of the strongest tennis federations also talked about the financial hardships of the lower-ranked players. Craig Tiley feels that such issues can only be addressed by having 16 to 20 premium tournaments. He said that it will help federations aggregate funds to spend on players who are below the belt.

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