Tennis chiefs confident new team competition can thrive

The big bosses of tennis have moved in swiftly to allay fears of a possible split in the sport following the announcement of a World Cup for teams starting in January 2020.

Chris Kermode, ATP executive chairman and president, was joined by Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley at the announcement of the details for launch of the ATP Cup — a revamped 24-team World Team Cup over 10 days in three Australian cities playing for a prize of $15 million (Dh55 million) in the first week of January 2020.

The ATP and the sport’s governing body, the International Tennis Federation (ITF), have been at loggerheads over the new team competition during the recent past as it clashes with the ITF’s now re-branded, 18-team end-of-season Davis Cup from 2019 — bank-rolled by Kosmos, a consortium led by Barcelona footballer Gerard Pique.

With both team competitions to be held only six weeks apart, Kermode is convinced there is space for everything in the world of tennis provided it is done the right way. “My remit is to promote men’s professional tennis in the right way,” Kermode said.

“We’ve had similar experiences when we launched the Next Gen ATP Finals and the Nitto ATP Finals. But we recognise the fact that the depth of men’s professional tennis is so great that it wouldn’t hurt to have another team event.”