"Tennis has always led the way when it comes to putting men and women together on the biggest stages - it's one of our strengths, and sets us apart from many other sports"
Thursday 23 April 2020 11:19, UK
ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi said tennis now had a "big opportunity" to create unity in response to Roger Federer's call for a merger between the ATP and WTA.
Federer believes the ATP and WTA tours should be merged in order to ensure tennis emerges stronger from the coronavirus pandemic.
The 20-time grand-slam champion posted a series of tweets expressing his belief that the sport would be better off with one stronger governing body.
Federer feels that the time has come for tennis to be "united" and his idea received widespread support, including Gaudenzi.
Tennis enjoys a massive worldwide following but its governance remains fractious with as many as seven associations running different parts of the game.
Besides the ATP and the WTA Tours, the sport is also controlled by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and the boards of the four Grand Slam tournaments.
"Recent cooperation between governing bodies has only strengthened my belief that a unified sport is the surest way to maximise our potential and to deliver an optimal experience for fans on-site, on television and online," Gaudenzi said.
"To that end, I welcome the views of our players. Tennis has always led the way when it comes to putting men and women together on the biggest stages - it's one of our strengths, and sets us apart from many other sports.
"We look forward to continued collaboration and discussions with the WTA and other stakeholders across all aspects of our business."
WTA chairman and CEO Steve Simon said the WTA had been in regular contact with the ATP about the return to tournament competition and looked forward to "continuing discussions on how we can effectively work together".
"I have long stated that we are at our best as a sport when we can work together, and the recent weeks have highlighted that fact," he said in a statement.
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