I am not talking about merging competition on the court, but merging the 2 governing bodies (ATP and WTA) that oversee the men’s and women’s professional tours….
"Could even go bankrupt in 2026 or 2027": Shocking claim on WTA future from Kazakh Tennis Federation VP
WTASunday, 22 October 2023 at 22:15
Kazakhstan Tennis Federation's Vice President believes that the WTA is in a shocking state amid recent talk of a merger between them and the ATP.
Yuri Polsky who is an advisor for the international affairs of the organisation to spoke to Russian tabloid Championat about the financial situation. He said that the organisation is nearing bankruptcy in a few years.
According to the tabloid, they have added more top tier tournaments in order to give more incentives and increase revenue, a move that if not done correctly could result on them being in dire straits.
He also compared the WTA and ATP situations and said it is night and day between the two tours.
"They are in a very bad place and could even go bankrupt in 2026 or 2027 if their financial situation doesn't change."
"For the WTA it is a matter of survival, for the ATP-a matter of reputation. [ATP leadership] doesn't want them to collapse because the optics would be bad. The ATP is in good financial shape, the tour has reserves, the players have retirement funds," he continued.
"The ATP is exploring its options, the question is, on what conditions could the merger be achieved? It is unclear what ATP's share [in a merged business] would be and to what extent the ATP is willing to subsidize the WTA," he added.
WTA Chairman refutes claims
Since time of writing in a statement supplied to TennisUpToDate.com, WTA Chairman & CEO Steve Simon has refuted this claims saying that a merger is not under consideration and that they are in a healthy financial position.
“The WTA is in a healthy financial position, a merger with the ATP is not under consideration, and we are excited about our strong future during which we will continue grow and expand women’s tennis. Earlier this year, the WTA announced an increase of $400 million in compensation to players over the next 10 years maintaining the WTA’s position as the leading women’s sports organization globally."
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