The ATP is being sued by the owner of the Madrid Open over claims they have broken its contract with them.
Super Slam Ltd, who is a Cyprus-based entity owned by former player Ion Tiriac, has filed a legal case to a Delaware Court on Thursday. They have accused the governing body of men’s tennis of having broken the part of their agreement concerning exclusivity to the tournament. How the ATP has allegedly done this is by letting rival tournaments take place at the same time as the Madrid Open, rendering it impossible for some players to take part in either matches or promotional activities in Madrid. For example the Italian Open starts during the same weekend as the Madrid finals.
Tiriac, who is one the richest people in his native Romania, acquired ownership of the Madrid Open back in 2012. When he did so he took on the same terms which were agreed back in 2008 which made Madrid a Masters 1000 event. The argument is the 2008 terms guaranteed ‘calendar protection’ during the month of May with an eight-day exclusivity window.
The Sports Business Journal (SBJ) was one of the first publications to report on the legal case. In a statement sent to them, the ATP said they were ‘disappointed’ to be involved in the lawsuit before going on the counteroffensive.
“ATP is disappointed that Super Slam Ltd., a valued member of the ATP, has taken this step. ATP believes the lawsuit has no basis in law or in fact and will defend it vigorously,” they said.
Besides the argument over the scheduling of tournaments, Tiriac has also claimed that the Madrid Open has been forced to pay more prize money than the other Masters 1000 event. They pay over $1M more than the Italian Open which has the same draw size. However, Madrid pays the same as both Miami and Indian Wells but those events have bigger draws (96 to 56) and a longer exclusivity period.
According to SBJ, who has viewed the legal filing, Super Slam are seeking damages for “injuries it has incurred during the last three years as a result of these contractual breaches and bad faith conduct.” They are also seeking an injunction against the ATP for ‘perceived discriminatory behaviour’ against them.
Whilst the Madrid Open is a combined event, the lawsuit is only concerning the ATP and not the WTA, who are in charge of the women’s Tour.
