Tennis Grand Slams rejects the new ATP and WTA plan for the sports calendar and finance

After considering a proposal from the leaders of tennis drivers to restructure the calendar, the people responsible for the four largest tournaments in sport, the Grand Slams, have returned a brief rejection that leaves the future of tennis in a state of paralysis.

On March 16, Andrea Gaudenzi, the ATP chairman, and Steve Simon, sent his counterpart to the WTA, Wimbledon and the Australian, Frans and the US opens a 23-page deck. It sketched a new management structure for tennis, a streamlined calendar of tournaments, improved wages for the players and a plan to finance everything. The plan would reduce the number of ATP and WTA tournaments, including the four Grand Slams, from 118 to somewhere around 75.

In response, the leaders of the Grand Slams sent a letter from one page, eight paragraph to Gaudenzi and Simon.

Although we appreciate the time and effort that you have stabbed to articulate your position, it cannot tackle the essential issues that we have repeatedly addressed, the letter assessed by The athletic, said.

A person who was informed about the Grand Slams response and their meetings with the tours in the past year, who, like all anonymous sources in this story, spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, described the ATP and WTA proposal in essence.

When the tours today say that it is on the table today, it is simply not true, because the tours cannot make the necessary changes because of the files of the management issues. It is essentially just making governance, challenges everyone's problem, they said.

A person who has been informed about the ATP and WTAS proposal, pointed to the three seats for the Grand Slams on the board as an example of a change in governance. They added that new boards supervise both tennis tours and the most important tournaments would make product changes easier to be decided.

We share your disappointment that no more progress has been made in tackling the important long-term challenges and opportunities for professional tennis, according to the SLAMS letter.

It then confirmed the Grand Slams version of a plan to repair tennis. That would entail an even more streamlined calendar of elite tournaments, in an attempt to attract more fans and sponsors to bring more money into a more uniform sport. The proposed schedule of the Grand Slams would have around 30 events, the men and women's singles in their four tournaments and ten further events on the men's and women's side per year. It was the Premium Tour that they introduced to the ATP and WTA last year and which never went beyond discussions.

The new proposal from Tours includes that basic structure of four majors and ten tournaments at top level, known as ATP and WTA 1,000s, for the ranking points they assign to their winners. But it also includes 16 ATP 500 and 17 WTA 500 tournaments, as well as an unknown number of 250 level tournaments.

The Grand Slams regard this plan as a blocker to their goal to create a less covered and burdening schedule, a schedule, one according to them who, according to them, will be easier for fans to follow (and that would give their events even more primacy). In their letter to Gaudenzi and Simon, they said that the ATP and WTA plan does not allow a low season to recover players well enough; They insist on that downtime eight weeks.

This is not a speculative position, it is based on solid, data -driven analysis that we have all experienced together, according to the letter.

The back and forth comes in a loaded time for tennis. On, Tuesday, The Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), The Organization Co-Founded by 24-Time Grand SLAM Champion Novak Djokovic, Labeled the Biggest Governing Bodies in Tennis A Cartel Wat Suppresses Wages, Player Opouramer, in Poornament, in Poornament, in Poornament, Tournament, Tournament, Tournament, Tournament, Tournament, Tournament, Tournament, Tournamage, Tournament, Tournament, Tournament, Tournamage, Tournamage, Tournamage Tournamage and Riventunike Tournamage and Tournamage. Lawsuit Filed in New York City, London and Brussels.

The organization called people ATP and Womens WTA Tours, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) as the defendants, threatens to destroy the fundamental structure of one of the most popular worldwide sports.

The tours and the Grand Slams have spent several times a month most of the past year. Now it seems that they are as far apart as ever.

The change needed in our sport must start with a vision of daring and concrete product reform, concluded the Grand Slams letter.

Until you feel able to bind to a vision and a plan with regard to these core issues, it is difficult to see how our discussions can continue. If your position changes, our door will remain open.

(Photo: Vincent Thian / Associated Press)