07/03/26 10:30:00
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07/03 07:04 CDT Doubles players condemn ATP Tour's plan to cut prize money and
tournament sizes
Doubles players condemn ATP Tour's plan to cut prize money and tournament sizes
By MATTIAS KARN
Associated Press
LONDON (AP) --- Doubles players fear for their tennis future after being told
by the ATP Tour that prize money and tournament sizes will decrease
significantly starting in 2028.
A group of leading doubles players issued a statement Friday saying they are
not "a carnival sideshow", and that it will be impossible for anyone outside
the top 30 in the ATP doubles rankings to make a living if the new proposals
are adopted.
The statement comes after doubles players met with ATP officials at Wimbledon
this week to discuss the future of a format that is struggling to draw an
audience.
"The ATP is proposing to slash doubles draws, gut doubles prize money, and hand
Challenger entry to singles players ahead of specialists who have built their
careers in this discipline," the players' statement said.
They said the proposal would give doubles players just 10 percent of the prize
money at ATP tournaments --- down from 20 percent --- while halving the size of
the doubles fields.
At the premier Masters tournaments, that would cut the doubles draw to 16
teams, while at the smaller ATP 500 and 250 events it would consist of just
eight teams.
"Do the math on what that means for anyone outside the top 30: it will be
impossible to make a living," the statement added.
"This is not a minor adjustment. It is a plan to end doubles as a viable
profession, dressed up as a cost-saving measure --- and it is being pushed
through with almost no transparency and almost no consultation with the players
whose careers and livelihoods are on the line."
Asked about the statement, the ATP Tour said it was "assessing the doubles
product, draw sizes and player compensation distribution with the aim of
creating a more sustainable long-term model while maintaining doubles'
important role on the Tour."
It added that changing the doubles model could help increase early-round
singles prize money, "helping more players at the highest level to better meet
the costs of competing on Tour and build sustainable professional careers."
The proposal does not affect Grand Slam tournaments. At this year's Wimbledon,
there are 64 doubles teams in both the men's and women's draw and winning pairs
split 760,000 pounds (about $1 million), compared to 3.6 million pounds ($4.8
million) for the singles champions.
Doubles has always taken a back seat to singles tournaments when it comes to
popularity and TV audiences, and the format has already faced several changes
in recent years. In 2023, Wimbledon joined the other Grand Slam tournaments in
shortening matches from five to three sets.
The U.S. Open last year introduced a new mixed doubles format that was played
before the singles tournament started, in order to draw top names like Carlos
Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Iga Swiatek and Naomi Osaka. That was criticized by
traditional doubles players, however, as it largely excluded them in favor of
attracting more famous singles specialists.
The women's doubles at Wimbledon received a boost with Serena and Venus
Williams accepting a wild-card entry. However, their participation was still in
doubt after Serena tweaked her knee during her first-round singles match in her
first appearance at the All England Club in four years.
The men's players said part of the problem in attracting an audience was due to
the ATP Tour's "lackluster marketing of doubles, failure to exploit broadcast
and other commercial partnerships, and poor event staging and promotion."
"Doubles is not an afterthought we fell into," the players' statement said. "It
has always been part of this sport's identity, not a discount version of it."
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
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