Tennis governance is fundamentally broken, with the four most prestigious tournaments- the Grand Slams- each having their own organizational bodies, and the second most-prestigious tournaments- the ATP/WTA 1000-level competitions being organized by the ATP/WTA respectively.
In late 2023, with growing fears of a Saudi- backed breakaway tour, the ATP began to lobby hard for the introduction of a new 1000-level event that would take place at the start of the calendar year in Saudi Arabia, seemingly to placate PIF -backed bidders looking to get involved in the sport. The move would further congest the tennis calendar by adding to the already draining tennis season. The proposal was quickly condemned by the Grand Slams, who pitched their own ‘premium tour’ that would compose of the 4 Grand Slams and the 9 1000-level events to create an F1 style calendar that the top 100 players would compete in. While on the face of it, it may seem like an initiative designed to reduce the burden on the best athletes in the sport, it quickly became clear that this was also an initiative to block the entry of a new Saudi-based 1000-level event. Tennis Australia, the Australian Open’s organizing body, has taken the lead in this proposal of the new ‘premium tour’. With the proposed Saudi Arabia tournament being pitched for a January spot in the calendar (when the weather would make an outdoor competition feasible), Tennis Australia’s annual ‘Summer of Tennis’ tournaments would be slashed in half, with virtually all the smaller tune-up tournaments in Australia/NZ being overlooked by athletes.
The Grand Slams (acting as a cartel in this scenario) have effectively tried to leverage their position as the biggest draws (for players and fans alike) in the sport to place the entry controls on the sport, and block a proposed Saudi Arabian 1000-level competition. While this issue is far from being resolved, and both proposals remain on the table, it will be interesting to see how the situation develops in the next few months with the Australian Open right around the corner.
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