Tennis Tours Contemplate Merger As Landscape Evolves

Professional tennis may soon get a makeover: The ATP and WTA tours are set to discuss a merger later this month.

While the top men’s and women’s players in the world often compete on the same courts throughout the year at Grand Slams and other top events, the tours are two separate entities with their own budgets, media rights deals, and overall revenue streams.

Now, Andrea Gaudenzi and Steve Simon — the respective CEOs of the ATP and WTA — and other top executives from both tours are planning to convene in London to explore aligning their competitions and pooling their assets, according to The Telegraph.

The idea of an ATP-WTA merger is not new — Roger Federer called for such three years ago — but there has not been any significant progress towards an official deal. 

Earlier this summer, John McEnroe said he believed a merger was going to happen “at some point soon.” Top American player Taylor Fritz told Front Office Sports, “I think that we could come together and sell the package of WTA, ATP tennis together.”

Prize money has been a focus for the WTA, which already announced plans to achieve equal pay with the ATP by 2033. A merger would likely help advance that initiative even sooner.

In 2023, the ATP is shelling out a record $217.9 million in prize money, about 75% more than the WTA. The four Grand Slams — which are operated independently from the ATP and WTA — offer equal prize money for the men’s and women’s draws.