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Behind the ATP's move to London

Tennis Masters Series renamed; Slam committee, ITF losing influence

By Matthew Cronin, TennisReporters.net

FROM WIMBLEDEON – The ATP made it official that the soon to be renamed Tennis Masters Cup will move from Shanghai to London in 2009 for four years and be renamed as the ATP World Tour Finals, but it did so without the final consent of three of the Grand Slams, which own a part of the tournament. While it appears this a formality and that the Grand Slam Committee and ITF will approve the deal on Thursday, some members Grand Slam executives were not pleased that they were not given any recognition during a celebratory press conference at the AELTC on Tuesday.

Wimbledon and the Lawn Tennis Association are pleased with the move and were a big part of the press conference, but the ITF and the Grand Slam Committee weren't. The Grand Slam Committee and the ATP co-own the name "Tennis Masters Cup" and co-own the Shanghai tournament, but when it moves to London, the Slams will have less visible presence and the name will revert to ATP so it can attempt to re-brand itself.

Part of the profits of the tournament will still go the Grand Slam Development Fund, which finances tennis programs and charities the world over, but the promotion, running and financing of the tournament will now entirely be in ATP hands.

Perhaps part of the reason that the other Grand Slam weren't recognized was because the press conference was so hastily put together. The ITF didn't even know about it until the day before.

The deal to hold the year-end event at London's O2 Arena was essentially finalized during Roland Garros, but ATP CEO Etienne De Villiers had to wrap up negotiations with Shanghai before he could make it public. Shanghai is scheduled to host a Masters Series tournament in the fall of 2009, but it's still conceivable, although improbable, that if that event doesn't look like it will fly, that Shanghai could exercise its option to hold the Tennis Masters Cup in 2009, pushing the London debut back a year.

De Villiers said that the ATP – which has put fans through more name changes than Prince – will drop the Masters Series designation and develop something new.

However, given that the Grand Slams co-own the name "Masters" and want to take more of backseat, it wasn't completely his decision. The Slams want the championships to be a success but, as always, want to make sure that it never copies the Grand Slam model. There are out clauses in the Slams contract with the tour.

Wimbledon and the LTA are thrilled because they feel that the existence of another big event in England will help further popularize the sport. Plus, the event is sure to get as fair amount of attention as it's one of the keystones leading up to the '12 Olympics in the city.

Interestingly, the 20,000 seat O2 Arena, is owned by AEG, which is a USTA partner at the women's summer tournament at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.

More developments:
• The word off the court is that ATP asked the French Tennis Federation to drop its Masters Series designation for the Paris Indoors in exchange for getting the Masters Cup, but the French said no.
• The London deal may be extended beyond four years.
• There will be no reduction in the ATP calendar. The tournament will be held the second or third week of November, depending on how the calendar falls that year.
• The ATP said it is close to wrapping up its 2009 calendar and deciding the fate on the new tournament in Madrid and the traditional TMS tournaments at Monte Carlo and Hamburg. Again, expect Hamburg to go (although it's suing the ATP), for Monte Carlo to stay as some type of TMS but not to receive a mandatory player commitment; and for Madrid to become a combined event with the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour running two weeks prior to Roland Garros.