Regional Roadmap?
The discussions continue regarding the ATP and WTA tournament calendars. One idea that has been floated in some circles is the concept of regional tennis tours similar to the regional PGA Tours in professional golf. These regional tours would still be a part of a larger tour featuring the Grand Slams, etc. The theory is that certain players are very popular in certain regions, but not in others. In addition, players would have to travel less. It has some merit because of the reduced
travel, but tennis is truly an international sport with global rivalries. James Blake may be more popular in the U.S. than in Europe, but Americans would tire of seeing the same match-ups week after week. Although tennis fans may have some national allegiances, they ultimately want to see the very best players. In addition, the analogy to golf is not totally apropos because golfers are really competing against themselves and the course each week rather than head to head as in tennis. The regional aspect of the tours already exists in the month or so prior to each Grand Slam, as well as the parallel series of tournaments in Europe and the U.S. during many periods of the year such as the winter and summer months. The real key to the calendar challenge is having enough (healthy) top players to support the tournaments. Therefore, it may be necessary to scale back the overall calendar while simultaneously reducing player commitments. Clearly, this is a compromise which will not appeal to many tournament directors and regional tennis associations, but it appears to be the most prudent path for the longer-term health of the sport of professional tennis and its top players.
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