ATP–WTA merger talks stall as revenue gap and power struggle slow progress

There has been speculation several times regarding the possible merger of the ATP and WTA Tours into a single body that could group all professional tennis players and offer joint solutions. Although a large portion of tournaments are played jointly – at the ATP and WTA level – the prize money differs, and the organizations are separated, men from women.

For the moment, both institutions do not appear close to achieving a merger – at least in 2025 – despite it being an idea that has been speculated about in recent years, and reports having indicated meetings between the ATP and WTA considering a possible combination between both institutions.

WTA CEO Portia Archer addressed the topic on CNBC Sport few months ago, where she commented that the merger would be positive for all parties, especially for tennis consumers. “I think if we can go to the marketplace and position ourselves to acquire sponsorships, or to acquire media or broadcast rights, or to acquire data rights — doing that with those commercial assets combined, so that we're selling tennis and those buyers don't have to make a choice between Coco (Gauff) or Carlos (Alcaraz)— is a great thing. And I think that's really, really healthy for the sport. So that's one part of it."

From media deals, equal prize money, and the possibility of organizing all events through the same organization, it makes it appear that the logical path is to have a single professional tennis association that oversees men's and women's events.

Official confirmation of the delay came via a brief joint communication from the governing bodies, which offered little in the way of concrete progress or revised timelines.

In a statement provided to Front Office Sports, the organizations attempted to maintain a facade of continuity, though the brevity of the message suggests the impasse is significant. This development stands in stark contrast to the confident projections made just months ago, where executives had characterized the agreement as being on the "doorstep" of completion. "The WTA and ATP have agreed to continue our conversations in the new year regarding a potential joint commercial venture. There are no updates beyond that at this time."

The primary sticking point in the negotiations remains the valuation of the respective tours and how future revenues would be divided in a combined entity. The financial disparities between the circuits are stark, creating friction over the proposed equity split. According to recently filed tax returns for the 2024 fiscal year, the ATP reported revenues of $293 million, generating a healthy surplus of $52 million. In contrast, the WTA reported revenues of $142.6 million—less than half that of the men's tour—and operated with a shortfall of $4.9 million.

These figures have emboldened the ATP to demand a dominant share of any joint venture, with sources indicating that initial discussions were framed around an 80-20 revenue split in favor of the men's tour. This valuation gap is a major point of contention for the WTA, which argues that a merger should reflect the combined value of the sport's premier events, where audiences are often comparable. Critics of the uneven split emphasize that the most valuable assets in tennis—the Grand Slams and combined Masters 1000 events—derive their worth from the presence of both tours, suggesting the proposed ratio undervalues the women's game.

Beyond the financials, the structural incompatibility of the two organizations poses a significant hurdle to integration. The WTA has already consolidated its commercial rights into a dedicated arm, WTA Ventures, selling a 20 percent stake to CVC Capital Partners in 2023 for $150 million.

This existing private equity involvement adds a layer of complexity to any merger, as CVC's interests must be aligned with a new joint entity. Conversely, the ATP's rights are fragmented across multiple silos, with separate units handling Masters 1000 broadcasts, other media rights, and data, making a clean consolidation difficult to engineer.