Players want ATP explanation over controversial doubles plans
· Yahoo Sports
A civil war has erupted within men’s tennis over proposals to reduce doubles on the tour.
Leading doubles players issued a statement on Friday hitting out at the plans, which they argue will make it virtually impossible to build a career in the format.
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“Doubles isn’t a carnival sideshow,” read the statement. “It is one of the most successful parts of tennis – integral to the amateur game – with the potential to do so much more.
“This is not a minor adjustment. It is a plan to end doubles as a viable profession, dressed up as a cost-saving measure – and it is being pushed through with almost no transparency and almost no consultation with the players whose careers and livelihoods are on the line.”
Under the proposals, which were presented at an ATP Player Council meeting at Wimbledon this week and would apply from 2028, doubles draws would be halved and prize money reduced in favour of singles players.
Doubles players are upset not just with the plans but with the fact there has not been more consultation.
Lloyd Glasspool, who won the Wimbledon title last year with fellow British player Julian Cash, said: “We’ve requested the ATP come and sit down with all the doubles players and just explain from their side in case there’s something we’re missing.
“But they’re refusing because they say, ‘Nothing valuable comes out of it, you guys get angry’. And we’re like, ‘Well, yeah, because you’re taking our jobs away, what do you want us to do?’. We’ve worked 20 years to be in this position.”
The player fields in singles and doubles on the men’s tour have become virtually entirely separate, with the biggest stars rarely playing the four-man format.
Doubles players argue the tour does not promote them, meaning they have little opportunity to boost their profiles.
Cash said: “I think it’s just disappointment more than anything. The sport’s in the best place it’s been and I think the sport as a whole should be growing.
“It (doubles) is a prestigious part of the game – Davis Cup, the Olympics, the slams, they’re all very pro doubles. It’s a real shame.
“We’re all members of the ATP, we pay every year. The reason it was set up was to help protect the players, it was not for things like this.”
A reduction in men’s doubles would be a serious blow for the Lawn Tennis Association, which has put resources into the format and reaped the rewards – four of the world’s top seven are British.
Neal Skupski, the world number five and Australian Open champion, said: “We understand where we are in the sport but I don’t think we should be devalued.
“Some people don’t appreciate how much effort we put in day in, day out to this sport. It’s not like we just turn up to tournaments, have a giggle and go on to the next tournament.”
In a statement, the ATP said it was trying to create a “more sustainable long-term model while maintaining doubles’ important role on the tour”.
The proposal comes at a time when leading singles players are pushing for more prize money from the grand slams, and the statement continued: “The review is also assessing whether changes to the doubles model could enable increased investment in early-round singles prize money, helping more players at the highest level to better meet the costs of competing on tour and build sustainable professional careers.
“Any potential changes will be developed through close consultation with players, tournaments and the ATP board, with any decisions made in the best long-term interests of the sport and its consumers.”