The head of the ATP has given his strongest hint yet that the organization is looking into adding a Masters 1000 event on the grass to the Tour calendar.
Andrea Gaudenzi has said during a recent interview with Germany’s Tennis Magazine that it ‘makes sense’ for such a tournament to be created. At present, there are nine Masters 1000 events which take place during the season. Three of those are held on the clay and six are on a hardcourt. However, this year only eight events are being played after the Shanghai Masters was cancelled due to the COVID-19 situation in China.
Speaking about his plans for the category, Gaudenzi confirmed that the ATP intends to increase the number of Masters events to 10 with the extra addition set to be held at a grass-court tournament. At present, there is a three-month gap between the Italian Open and Canadian Open which are both in the category. Providing a gap for an extra event to be held during that period.
“There are three weeks between the French Open and Wimbledon. Grass is the only surface on which a Masters 1000 tournament is not played. This means that between Rome and the Canada Masters in the summer, the ATP will have no premium content for the fans for two months. Because almost all players start in the middle of the three grass weeks before Wimbledon, a grass Masters makes sense,” said Gaudenzi.
There are already two ATP 500 events on the grass which could be upgraded to a higher status. Halle in Germany and Queen’s in London both currently take place at the same time. Each of them has a solid argument as to why they should be made a Masters 1000 event. Should one of those events get promoted it is likely that they will no longer clash on the calendar.
“The Germans love tennis and its history. It’s the same with the UK market. It has the same chances as Germany of a lawn masters. It offers the advantage that the players are already in London before Wimbledon. But: London already has Wimbledon. Our plan is that there will be ten ATP Masters 1000 tournaments in the future,” Gaudenzi continued.
No comment was made about the possible date of when a Masters event on the grass could be added to the calendar.
Last month the ATP confirmed that five more Masters 1000 events will have their draws expanded to 96 players over the coming years as part of their OneVision plan. Meaning that seven out of the nine Masters 1000 tournaments will have draws of that size. Besides the capacity, a new 50/50 profit-sharing formula between players and the tournaments was announced in a move to better align their interest in growing the game.
Elsewhere during his interview, the Italian has called on players to be ‘more available’ to conduct off-court duties to help grow the sport. This year the Tour is being filmed by Netflix for a special programme similar to F1’s drive to survive. Throughout the season cameramen have been following various players. The name of the program and its release date is yet to be announced.
“We don’t just need the players on the court. They also need to be more available off the court. More content, interviews, and documentaries for the media are needed. Because they tell the fans the stories about the players. It’s not just about who won the match,” Gaudenzi explained.
“The characters of the players need to be better exposed. The motto of the ATP must be: Let’s get together instead of fighting each other over a per cent or two in prize money.”
Gaudenzi has been chairman of the ATP since 2019.
