Kyrgios urges, Swiss Tennis welcomes them: ATP’s planned financial injection divides the tennis world

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Every tennis pro or talent on their way there feels it firsthand every week: life on the tour is endlessly consuming money. Travel, accommodation and food to personal coaches, physiotherapists or other assistants: each player must find the money for it himself. And the proportion of professionals who can benefit from the honeypots of the biggest tournaments is very small by comparison.

Now players’ association ATP has submitted a plan to radically change the tennis landscape. Starting in 2024, the ‘Baseline’ program will provide players with greater financial security as part of a three-year testing phase. There are three main pillars:

1) Anyone who is among the top 250 players in the world should be able to benefit from a basic income – depending on their ranking. Players in the top 100 would be entitled to $300,000, the equivalent of 264,000 francs. For grades 101 through 175, there would be 132,000 francs. And the rest up to place 250 would receive an amount of about 66,000 francs. It plays a role how much the player receives in prize money per year. If it is lower than the fixed basic income, the ATP steps in and takes over the deficit.

2) Players who are plagued by injuries during the year must also be supported. Anyone who can play less than nine ATP or Challenger tournaments is also entitled to compensation. The equivalent of CHF 176,000 for the top 100, CHF 88,000 for positions 101 through 175, and CHF 44,000 for positions 176 through 250.

3) Up-and-coming talent that penetrates the top 125 in the world for the first time will receive a start-up grant of 176,000 euros. This amount is then paid out the following season and deducted from the prize money income.

The ATP assumes that, all conditions taken into account, between 30 and 45 players per season should be entitled to the new basic income. Top stars such as Novak Djokovic (36) or Carlos Alcaraz (20) will hardly be there if they are spared major injuries. The second, third or fourth guard can and should take advantage of this.

“Aimed at the wrong people”

Grigor Dimitrov (32), member of the ATP Players’ Council, described the program as a “turning point”. Finally, the pros could “focus on the game”. At the request of Blick, Swiss Tennis also said that the association welcomed the pilot project, especially because the fixed costs were “always present”, even in bad sports times. Swiss Tennis sees the payment for injuries in particular as a positive development. Marc-Andrea Hüsler (27) from Zurich, currently number 97 in the world, and Blick tennis expert Heinz Günthardt (64) also speak in unison of a “step in the right direction”.

The criticism comes from former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios (28), who writes on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) that basic income is ‘still not enough’. And British coach Calvin Betton tells “The Telegraph”: “I think it’s kind of funny that the ATP announcement included a quote from Dimitrov. It’s like asking Tom Cruise to speak about the difficulties the life of a failed actor.” In addition, the program would target the wrong people: “It’s those outside the top 250 who really need help.” The needy are those between ranks 250 and 600.

Swiss Tennis is also involved in this. The association explains: “It would be useful if the support could be expanded. We currently have five players in the top 250 and seven in the top 600.” (see box)

Despite his other words of praise, Günthardt also believes that the project “will not fundamentally change the tennis landscape” without any expansion: “After all, it takes many years to reach the level required to benefit from the initiative at all. Those years are expensive.”

WTA is now under pressure

Exactly the same can of course also be said of the women on the tour. But nothing is known about a similar WTA project so far. Although the demands for it are getting louder, also from Switzerland. Swiss Tennis says: “It would be nice if the WTA leveled up and introduced such a safety net for the players.” Hüsler would also welcome this “in the sense of equality”.

The WTA also responded to Blick’s request: “We don’t have this program at the moment, but we are constantly exploring what we can do to support our players and their financial future.”

At a time when the WTA is already being criticized in some places for significantly lower tournament prize money, the pressure should have increased again after the ATP broke through.

Source : Blick