Roger Federer Calls For ATP WTA Merger, Gets Support From Rafael Nadal And Other Stars

The bodies overseeing professional tennis have been operating separately through the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA). During this global pandemic, Roger Federer himself has thrown the idea to merge these two organizations as one.

The ATP was formed in 1972 and was followed right after by the WTA in 1973. It has been nearing 50 years that tennis is governed by separate entities and Federer took to Twitter to suggest otherwise.

“Just wondering…..am I the only one thinking that now is the time for men’s and women’s tennis to be united and come together as one?” Federer tweeted.

Fellow tennis stars including rival and good friend Rafael Nadal supported this idea. The 19-time Grand Slam champion praised Federer for bringing it up and shared that it’s about time the two joined forces.

“Hey @rogerfederer as you know per our discussions I completely agree that it would be great to get out of this world crisis with the union of men’s and women’s tennis in one only organisation,” Nadal tweeted.

Several others have responded to Federer saying it’s a great idea to combine the two governing bodies. Canadian Vasek Pospisil mentioned that the ATP has been working on it since January.

While Pospisil shared that it has been a plan since the start of the year, Billie Jean King also gave her two cents on Federer’s proposal. As a gender equality icon, King mentioned that the movement towards one body has always been the plan since the 1970s. It’s interesting to note that King was also one of the founders of the WTA.

She shared that men and women coming together as one group has always been her dream.

“I agree, and have been saying so since the early 1970s. One voice, women and men together, has long been my vision for tennis,” King shared.

While King was among the original members of the WTA, she mentioned that it was always just a plan B and uniting everyone has always been the goal.

As the sporting world continues to be on hold, Federer and those who have shown support for his idea will have to wait until the action is taken for this proposal.