Andrea Gaudenzi talked to Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport about the many challenges he had to face in his first year as ATP Chairman and his expectations for the 2021 season, which will end with the ATP Finals in Turin. Gaudenzi attended the official press conference of the ATP Finals in Turin yesterday.
“There was only a positive aspect in a very difficult season for everyone, but I am optimist and I try to see the positive side. We have managed to reunite the different institutions in the world of tennis. We have worked in close cooperation with the WTA and the ITF. There are too many different rules and it’s now time to overcome them. The governing bodies of tennis and the Grand Slams are getting together and working collaboratevely on the long-term future of tennis. The future is uncertain, but we are working to better plan next season. We are open to discussions with Novak Djokovic and PTPA, but the time has come for unity. We cannot make the necessary changes if there are divisions. We must fight together to defend the most important interests”, said Andrea Gaudenzi.
Gaudenzi revealed that the ATP Rankings could be back to normal soon.
“Next March we hope to resume the traditional ATP Ranking and the ATP Race to Turin that considers the results achieved in the 2021 season as long as we are able to stage a high number of tournaments. We will update the calendar every three month. Hopefully we will get back to normal by autumn thanks to the vaccine. It was a very hard period. All tournaments that took place after the lockdown have suffered losses. The Grand Slam and Masters 1000 tournaments have resisted to the challenges caused by the pandemic, but the ATP 250 tournaments are facing a very difficult period. We are ready to help these events”.
The Italian former player is not very worried about the future of tennis after the retirement of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
“I started playing tennis during the era of Pete Sampras and André Agassi. Many people said that tennis would have not survived their retirement and it would have been very difficult to match between Sampras and Agassi. Their longevity is incredible though, and of course they will be missed whenever they decide to retire, but historic tournament like Wimbledon and Rome have maintained their tradition and are extremely popular events among fans. I think the game is a great product, so eventually tennis will create new stars. If you look back, the sport has always generated amazing rivalries”.
Italian tennis is going to grow in popularity thanks to the ATP Finals and a new generation of players like Matteo Berrettini and Jannik Sinner.
“Jannik Sinner is a very talented player. I think that he has a great future. We expect him to play in Turin in the future”.
Gaudenzi is very confident that the ATP Finals in Turin will be a successful event.
“Turin is doing a great job. We are very ambitious. We have set a very high standard in London, where the ATP Finals attracted 3 million spectators in 12 years. We are confident that Turin will do even better. We can guarantee the quality of the show to the fans, who buy the ticket”.
Gaudenzi was asked about the rule changes aimed at increasing the appeal of tennis among a new generation of fans. The ATP Chairman is focused on creating a product that can help promote tennis during a period of change for the media environment.
“I am in favour of the changes to the traditional tennis rules. Our goal is to deliver a good product for the new media platforms. We have to focus on fans. We have to deliver a better experience in terms of media and data distribution. We need to work more closely with the other organisations, specifically the WTA, the ITF and the Grand Slams because together, we can invest more in technology and innovation and we can provide a better experience to the fans”.