WTA and ATP: Future Roles?
The recent positive drug test for cocaine by Martina Hingis at Wimbledon 2007 and her subsequent retirement raised issues related to the roles of the WTA and ATP Tours. Hingis decided not to pursue the likely lengthy legal battle to challenge the positive drug test result and 2 year ban. Nonetheless, the WTA indicated that Hingis would receive the WTA’s support if she should choose to
appeal. The potentially sticky issue for both the WTA and ATP is that they function as both operators of the Tour and overseer of all tournaments while also functioning as the players’ associations. Isn’t that an inherent conflict of interest? Professional tennis is filled with similar conflicts, e.g. the same firms, e.g. IMG, manage players, organize/promote tournaments and advise sponsors. In the American professional team sports, there is a clear separation of “church and state” because there is the NBA and the NBA Players’ Association, the NFL and the NFL Players’ Association, etc. As the professional tennis Tours have grown into major global businesses and the top tennis stars are worldwide celebrities, perhaps it’s finally time to move towards the model of the major American sports leagues, i.e. a Commissioner and entity which operates and governs the Tour with a separate players’ association which represents the interests of the players. One would hope that the interests of the Tours, the players and the sponsors were always united, but since that isn’t always the case, it may be time for a change...
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