Paris Masters at risk of losing their status as an ATP-1000 event confirms the tournament director Cedric Pioline

Pioline had already suggested that the French Tennis Federation is on its way to doing every single thing possible to restore the tournament. 

Paris Masters at risk of losing their status as an ATP-1000 event confirms the tournament director Cedric Pioline

Paris Masters Logo(left) and Tournament Director Cedric Pioline(right). (credits: Wikipedia, Tennis Majors)

With this year’s Paris Masters already commenced, the future of the competition doesn’t look bright at all, according to its tournament director, Cedric Pioline.

Pioline has finally talked about the issue, stating that the problem is very serious with the entire French tennis board trying to secure the competition for at least the next 10 to 15 years. Pioline had already suggested that the French Tennis Federation is on its way to doing every single thing possible to restore the tournament.

YouTube video

Pioline said:

FS Video
We talk a lot about 2025, but that will only be the starting point. The idea is to secure the Masters 1000 label for the next 10 or 15 years. There is no deadline, but it seems to me that the end of the year seems a pretty reasonable area to make our decision known. The fact is imminent that even if the Accor Arena goes to the tenders with a beautiful file which is studied by the FFT.

Furthermore, he also feels that the La Défense Arena would be able to comply with the rules and criteria imposed by the ATP. Which, he believes, is going to be their last hope of saving their Masters 1000 label.

A recap of the 2023 Paris Masters

This year’s Paris Masters started with great hopes for the top stars who dreamt of securing a position at the WTA Finals. With last year’s champion Holger Rune ready to defend the title and favorites Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz looking to end their year on a high by securing the world No. 1 spot, the tournament was going to be a classic.

Novak Djokovic with the 2023 Rolex Paris Masters trophy. (credits: Tennis365)

However, interestingly, things didn’t go as planned for Alcaraz, as he bowed out of the tournament right in the first round. As for the other top stars, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Grigor Dimitrov, Djokovic, and Andrey Rublev were among the ones who made it to the semi-final.

Rublev and Djokovic produced simply the best game of the tournament, with Nole making it out to the final in a three-set thriller and going on to clinch his seventh title, beating Dimitrov.

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