In six weeks, there’s a tennis event happening in Madrid where the ATP and WTA Tours are coming together to talk about potentially joining forces, reported The Telegraph. This discussion isn’t a $2 billion offer from Saudi Arabia. It’s also exploring the idea of merging their businesses, which has the backing of tennis legends like Roger Federer and Billie Jean King. McKinsey, a consulting firm, is putting together a report on this business merger that could create a company called “Ventures” valued at $3.84 billion.
Future Earnings Split
If this merger goes through it’s likely that future earnings will be split evenly between the ATP and WTA which could help address concerns about income disparities. Initially, the tours would keep management structures. They might eventually merge operations more closely. The fact that Madrid is hosting both Masters 1000 tournament meetings shows a trend toward integration.
Coming Together Problematic
Coming together as one could make the tours stronger when negotiating with the four slams especially when discussing plans for a “Premium Tour” to revamp the schedule. However, some worry that combining the tours might challenge the slams’ status as tennis top events. To add to this complexity, there’s also a $1.3 billion bid from Saudi Arabia in play.
Issues Not Resolved
The bid from Saudi Arabia includes plans for a combined tournament in Riyadh that would feature both the Masters and WTA Finals with the potential for the ATP Finals to join on. While the Saudi proposal could exist alongside the proposed Premium Tour, it is essential to address concerns regarding existing tournaments and governance. Despite talks at Indian Wells, these issues have yet to be resolved.
The unveiling of the bid has put the tours in a position. The upcoming months have the potential to reshape tennis presenting both challenges and opportunities as the sport navigates through a phase.
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About Author
Jocelyn Paige Kelly is not your typical sports writer. She’s a Clarion West grad, short story writer, and poet. If you’re lucky you might catch her on Twitter tweeting as @jossome or you can read one of her many published short stories here. She has an interesting history of writing blogs for various companies from a psychic network to a supplements company. Nothing, except her kidneys, phase her.
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