WTA founder Billie Jean King and Rafael Nadal led a wave of support on Thursday for Roger Federer’s suggestion that “now is the time” to merge the men’s and women’s governing bodies, while tennis is at a standstill because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Federer, winner of
a record 20 men’s Grand Slam crowns, said a merger of the Women’s Tennis
Association (WTA) and the men’s Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) “probably
should have happened a long time ago” in a series of tweets.
The Swiss great’s
idea for one “stronger body” received an enthusiastic response from King, Nadal
and leading women’s players such as former Wimbledon champions Simona Halep,
Petra Kvitova and Garbine Muguruza, but controversial Australian Nick Kyrgios
expressed reservations.
“Just wondering…
am I the only one thinking that now is the time for men’s and women’s tennis to
be united and come together as one?” Federer posed to his 12.7 million Twitter
followers.
Trailblazer King,
who was instrumental in establishing the WTA in 1973, said such a merger “has
long been my vision for tennis”.
“I agree, and have
been saying so since the early 1970s. One voice, women and men together… Let’s
make it happen,” she tweeted.
Nadal, who has 19
Grand Slam titles, posted: “I completely agree that it would be great to get
out of this world crisis with the union of men’s and women’s tennis in one only
organisation.”
Federer and Nadal
argued that a merger could help tennis recover from the coronavirus shutdown,
which has seen Wimbledon cancelled for the first time since World War II and
the French Open postponed from May to the end of September.
“It probably should
have happened a long time ago, but maybe now is really the time,” Federer
wrote.
“These are tough
times in every sport and we can come out of this with 2 weakened bodies or 1
stronger body.”
‘How is it good for
us?’
He said the current
system was “too confusing for the fans when there are different ranking
systems, different logos, different websites, different tournament categories”.
World number two
and reigning Wimbledon champion Halep agreed, tweeting that Federer was “not
the only one” thinking along those lines, while Muguruza added, “Yes, would be
a good idea”.
Two-time Wimbledon
champion Kvitova tweeted: “Hands up if you agree with @rogerfederer,” alongside
a raised-hand emoji.
But Kyrgios said he
was yet to be convinced, adding that players should be consulted.
“Did anyone ask the
majority of the ATP, what they think about merging with the WTA and how it is
good for us?” tweeted the world number 40, renowned for his outspoken views.
Three-time Grand
Slam winner Stanislas Wawrinka claimed the subject had already been discussed
by the ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi.
“It was not just a
comment like that, there is more talk behind that. Gaudenzi at the ATP was
already talking about it,” he said during an Instagram Live with 18-time Grand
Slam champion Chris Evert.
Gaudenzi, who took
charge in January, said last week that the subject of closer collaboration had
come up during talks about how to proceed when the COVID-19 crisis eases.
“All of the bodies
coming together and discussing the calendar, a way forward, player relief and
many, many other topics. That could be the positive outcome of this,” he said
on ATP Tennis Radio.
“Finally, the
governing bodies of tennis and the Grand Slams are getting together and working
collaboratively on the long-term future of the sport,” confirmed the
46-year-old Italian, who as a player won three ATP Tour titles and reached 18
in the rankings.
