ATP changes include expanded tournaments, profit sharing

LONDON: The ATP men's professional tennis tour announced reforms Thursday that include expansion of five Masters 1000 events and 50-50 profit sharing between players and tournaments starting next year.

Changes approved by the ATP Board also include increased prize money, all the result of more than two years of negotiations.

The “OneVision” phase one plan hopes to increase profits by aggregating tournament revenue into ATP Media and the tour's Tennis Data Innovations.

“Importantly, this will open up major growth opportunities in media and data, two highly scalable revenue streams,” the ATP said in a statement. “Embracing the digital transformation will also shift the tour away from over-reliance on ticketing, a concerted move seen across many other major sports.”

Players will receive audited tournament financials for the first time and “a ground-breaking 50-50 profit sharing formula will align the interests of players and tournaments in growing the game as partners in success.”

Starting next year, Masters events in Madrid, Rome and Shanghai will grow from eight-day competitions to 12 days in line with Indian Wells and Miami. Beginning in 2025, the Canada and Cincinnati events will similarly expand.

Prize money at the five expanded events will increase by more than 35%, the ATP said.

ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi called approval of the plan “a game-changing moment for the tour and a huge collective effort across our sport."