The head of the ATP Tour has defended the decision to organise a series of top level tournaments within a short period by arguing that it is a ‘start’ for men’s tennis to get going again.
Andrea Gaudenzi, who took over the leadership role at the ATP earlier this year, has admitted that the new calendar for 2020 is a far from ideal scenario. Within a seven week period there will be two Grand Slams, as well as three Masters 1000 tournaments taking place between August and September. Triggering some players to raise concerns that playing so many tournaments within a short period of time may lead to injury.
“Four weeks in five (in September) … I think that will pose issues for players, and I think also because a transition to a different surface (from hard to clay courts) will be very quick,” former Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic told CNN’s Christina Macfarlane.
“The thing that you really hope for is that it doesn’t create an uptick in injuries because that is quite tolling, quite a task.”
Some have argued that the Tour shouldn’t resume until the start of 2021 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the risk it poses to players. As highlighted by the Adria Tour where a series of players, including world No.1 Novak Djokovic, tested positive for the virus. However, Gaudenzi argues that if some top-level tournaments are able to host events in safe circumstances, it is a stepping stone for the Tour to return gradually and enables players to start earning again.
“We realise that the resumption of the calendar is not perfect by any means – we would love to have more events and more playing opportunities, and more space between our marquee events to ease player scheduling,” Gaudenzi said during an interview published on the ATP website.
“The reality is that the economic impact of the crisis has meant that tournaments further down the pyramid are less able to weather the storm than those at the top. But does that mean we should hold back the whole Tour until the situation is fully back to normal? Our judgment was that we need to start somewhere and if we have tournaments at the top level that are able to run, and in a safe environment, providing earning opportunities not only for players but for the whole industry, well that’s a start.”
All professional tennis tournaments have been either suspended or cancelled since March due to the pandemic. Triggering tennis’ governing bodies to launch a multi-million door rescue package to financially support players who have been unable to earn during this period.
Gaudenzi has insisted that the Tour calendar is ‘balanced and fair for all’ despite the schedule for the lower level Challenger Tour yet to be finalised. Out of the seven ATP tournaments given the green light to take place later this year, only one is an ATP 500 and one is an ATP 250.
“The way in which we make this return balanced and fair for all, in terms of playing opportunities, including the Challenger Tour, prize money, the FedEx ATP Rankings, travel, is something that we will continue to work on,” he pledges.
“In the long term, I am optimistic that with the preventative measures developed and the unity shown by tennis’ stakeholders, tennis will be back stronger than ever and will continue to grow for years to come.”
Whilst Gaudenzi is confident that the calendar is fair, he admits that external factors linked to COVID-19 will be problematic. Including different countries having their own quarantine measures and travel restrictions. World No.2 Rafael Nadal had previously said that the sport shouldn’t start again until there is a level playing field for all in terms of travelling and attending events.
“It’s not going to be perfect from the outset and it will take some time but it’s something we will continue to work on and try and ensure as fair and balanced outcome for everyone involved in terms of playing opportunities, prize money and the fairest way possible for the rankings to resume,” Gaudenzi commented.
“We can have the most robust plans in place but collaboration and approval from local governments will be key, and we’ll continue to monitor international travel restrictions as the situation evolves weekly.” He later added.
The ATP Tour will officially resume on August 14th at the Citi Open in Washington, USA.
ATP Tour schedule

Note: The ATP have said their schedule for events taking place after the French Open will be published at some stage next month.