Should the ATP and WTA be Combined?
As the ATP searches for a new CEO, there is talk anew regarding whether the ATP and WTA should unite into one unified pro tennis organization. Bad idea... for a couple reasons. Women’s professional tennis is the most successful global sport for women and needs to remain separate to retain that position. The Tours will both suffer by becoming one entity because as two organizations they generate more combined publicity for both
the players and the sport of tennis. By remaining separate, the Tours can focus on promoting their own stars. The top men and women already compete alongside each other at the Grand Slams, i.e. Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, as well as at a few combined ATP and WTA events, e.g. Indian Wells and Key Biscayne. In 2009, there will be several more combined tournaments. It's wonderful for the Tours to unite several times a year at those tournaments because the events themselves and the sport of tennis are the real draws. However, without the separate ATP and WTA events to establish and maintain interest in the top tennis stars while also cultivating the rising stars, everyone will suffer. Juan Martin Del Potro became one of the stars of the ATP summer circuit by winning four events. If the ATP and WTA were combined, Del Potro would have received less visibility. In the end, the sum of the ATP and WTA is less than the separate parts...
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