Tennis Australia has joined the likes of tennis legend Billie Jean King in supporting the potential merger of tennis’ WTP and ATP governing bodies.
The move would be a historic moment in the sport and has come about as a result of the impact the coronavirus pandemic is having on tennis. One concerning issue that has arisen following the suspension of the tennis tours has been the position of low-ranked players who often rely on tour winnings to survive financially.
Roger Federer has even thrown his opinion into the mix, tweeting: “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’s long-time rival Rafael Nadal added his support to the move alongside a plethora of other tennis stars who argue that a merger between the men’s and women’s governing bodies makes organisational and financial sense.
Now Tennis Australia, the national tennis body for World Number 1 Ashleigh Barty's home nation have added their support to the potential merger.
CEO of Tennis Australia Craig Tiley told AAP: "Is there a way where you bring those seven governing bodies together and you find a solution for a better a future, a future that puts more revenue into the system because the value's higher when combining the men and the women?"
"There's an opportunity to leverage off the asset of each other and the success of each other."
Tiley explained that a merger between the two organisations would benefit both the men's ad women's game in a way that has never been seen before in the sport and support those in the lower ranks.
"The objective of global sport should be ensuring that the lower-ranked players get paid more money, that there are more players making a living out of the game.
"So there has to be some sort of redistribution of the wealth or more revenue in the system - and more revenue in the system comes from aggregation and joining together."