ATP President Chris Kermode spoke in an interview about the current state of the world tour. Kermode thinks aloud about shortening matches, on-court coaching during the games and about new transmission formats for live matches.
Kermode has been boss of ATP since 2013. In an interview with Tennis View Magazine at the World Tour Finals in London, the ex-professional took a stance on the things that currently occupy most of the ATP tour.
Chris Kermode on…
… the condition of the ATP tour:”Professional tennis is better than ever. But now, in good times, we have to try out a few things so that we don’t panic in the future and make wrong decisions when it’s too late.”
… on-court coaching:”I’m basically an open-minded person, but personally I’m not a fan of it. Rather, I think that the duel between first and second in tennis is very important. Maybe it could come (coaching during the matches, note) in the future if we control it in any way. But I don’t really like the idea.”
… new transmission formats:”This is an area that we are watching very closely. Television companies are constantly changing, as is the way people consume entertainment products. I think we should act with foresight instead of insisting on our traditional distribution channels. It’s a certain risk we’re taking, but we’re only at the beginning of the road to where the transmissions are going.”
… new match formats:”We have to try new things. Every sport is about shortening the product. But this is not a panacea. When a sport is boring for more than eight hours and you compress it to five minutes, you still have a boring sport. It’s about making the sport more attractive and competitive so that it remains relevant.”
… the length of Grand Slam matches:”We (the ATP, Note) have no control over the Grand Slams (which are played by the ITF, Note). But I can’t imagine playing on two sets of wins in the foreseeable future. Certainly not in the next ten years.”