Association of Tennis Professionals facts for kids

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Association of Tennis Professionals
Official website

Sport	Professional tennis
Abbreviation	ATP
Founded	September 1972; 52 years ago (1972-09)
Location	United Kingdom (HQ) Monaco United States Australia
Chairman	Andrea Gaudenzi
CEO	Massimo Calvelli
Current season: 2024 ATP Tour 2024 ATP Challenger Tour

The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) is the main group that runs men's professional tennis around the world. It organizes big tennis events like the ATP Tour, the ATP Challenger Tour, and the ATP Champions Tour.

The ATP was started in September 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale. Their goal was to protect the interests of professional tennis players. Drysdale became the first president. Since 1990, the ATP has organized the ATP Tour, which is the main worldwide tennis tour for men. The ATP's main office is in London. They also have offices in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida (for the Americas), Monaco (for Europe), and Sydney, Australia (for Africa, Asia, and Australasia).

Early History of the ATP
The ATP Tour
- Changes in 2009
- ATP Tour Tournaments
ATP Rankings
- Current Rankings
How the ATP is Organized
See Also

Early History of the ATP

The ATP was launched in 1972 by Jack Kramer, Donald Dell, and Cliff Drysdale. Jack Kramer was the first executive director, and Cliff Drysdale was the first president. Jim McManus also helped start the group. Kramer created the ranking system for professional players, which began the next year and is still used today.

From 1974 to 1989, a group called the Men's International Professional Tennis Council (MIPTC) managed the men's tennis circuit. This group included people from the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the ATP, and tournament organizers.

The 1973 Wimbledon Boycott

In May 1973, Nikola Pilić, a top tennis player from Yugoslavia, was suspended by his country's tennis group. They said he refused to play in a Davis Cup match. The International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) supported this suspension, but later shortened it. This meant Pilić could not play at Wimbledon.

In response, the ATP said they would boycott, or refuse to play, if Pilić was not allowed to compete. After talks failed, the ATP voted to boycott. As a result, 81 of the top players, including the champion Stan Smith, did not play at the 1973 Wimbledon Championships. A few ATP players, like Ilie Năstase and Roger Taylor, played anyway and were fined by the ATP.

The 1988 Breakaway

Even after the boycott, tournament organizers and the ITF still largely ran the tennis tour. Players felt they did not have enough say in how the sport was managed. This led to a player "mutiny" in 1988. Top players, including the world number one Mats Wilander, led this change. It completely changed how the tour was set up.

ATP's Actions in 2022

In response to a major international event in 2022, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) moved the 2022 St. Petersburg Open tennis tournament from Saint Petersburg to Kazakhstan. Later in May 2022, the ATP decided to remove world ranking points from the Wimbledon tournament. This was because Wimbledon chose not to allow certain players to enter.

The ATP Tour

Hamilton Jordan, who was the CEO of the ATP, is famous for announcing on August 26, 1988, that the ATP would leave the old management group (MIPTC). They would create their own tour starting in 1990. This change also ended a lawsuit with Volvo and Donald Dell. On January 19, 1989, the ATP announced the schedule for its first season in 1990.

By 1991, men's tennis had its first TV deal to show 19 tournaments. The ATP launched its first website in 1995. Later, they signed a big deal with Mercedes-Benz. More changes happened in 2008 after new disagreements, leading to a new structure for the tour.

Changes in 2009

ATP World Tour Finals, 2012.

In 2009, the ATP introduced a new tour structure called the ATP World Tour. This included different levels of tournaments: ATP World Tour Masters 1000, ATP World Tour 500, and ATP World Tour 250.

The Masters 1000 tournaments are big events held in places like Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, Madrid, Rome, Toronto/Montreal, Cincinnati, Shanghai, and Paris. The big end-of-year event, the ATP Finals, moved from Shanghai to London. Top players face penalties if they miss Masters 1000 events, unless they have a medical reason.

There was some disagreement when the ATP planned to remove Monte Carlo and Hamburg from the Masters Series. Players and organizers protested. Monte Carlo and Hamburg even filed lawsuits. As a compromise, Monte Carlo stayed a Masters 1000 event with more prize money and 1000 ranking points. However, it was no longer a required tournament for top players. Hamburg became a 500-level event.

The 500 level tournaments include events in places like Rotterdam, Dubai, Rio, Acapulco, Barcelona, and many others.

The ATP and ITF also decided that Davis Cup matches could award up to 500 points. Players earn points over the four rounds and playoffs. An extra 125 points are given to a player who wins all their matches and wins the Davis Cup.

ATP Tour Tournaments

The ATP Tour includes the ATP Masters 1000, ATP 500, and ATP 250 tournaments. The ATP also manages the ATP Challenger Tour, which is a step below the main ATP Tour, and the ATP Champions Tour for older players.

Some major tennis events are not run by the ATP. These include the Grand Slam tournaments, the Olympic tennis tournament, the Davis Cup, and the Hopman Cup. These are overseen by the ITF or the International Olympic Committee (IOC). However, players still earn ATP ranking points at Grand Slams and some other events.

Here is a quick look at the different professional tennis events:

Event	Number	Total prize money (USD)	Winner's ranking points	Governing body
Grand Slam	4	See individual articles	2,000	ITF
ATP Finals	1	4,450,000	1,100–1,500	ATP (2009–present)
ATP Tour Masters 1000	9	2,450,000 to 3,645,000	1000	ATP
ATP Tour 500	13	755,000 to 2,100,000	500	ATP
ATP Tour 250	40	416,000 to 1,024,000	250	ATP
ATP Challenger Tour	178	35,000 to 168,000	80 to 125	ATP
ITF Men's Circuit	534	15,000 and 25,000	10 to 20	ITF
Olympics	1	See individual articles	0	IOC

ATP Rankings

The ATP publishes weekly rankings for professional players. These are called the ATP rankings (or 'world rankings'). They show how well players have done over the past 52 weeks. There's also the ATP Race to Turin, which tracks points earned only in the current year. All ATP players also have a Universal Tennis Rating, which is based on their head-to-head match results.

The ATP rankings help decide which players can enter tournaments and how they are seeded (ranked) in both singles and doubles. Points are collected over the past year. The player with the most points at the end of the season becomes the world No. 1 for that year.

The ATP Race To Turin shows what the ATP Rankings will look like at the end of the regular season. The top eight players in the Race to Turin after the Paris Masters qualify for the ATP Finals.

At the start of the 2009 season, all ranking points were doubled to match the new tournament ranking system.

Current Rankings

Current tennis rankings

How the ATP is Organized

Since January 1, 2020, Andrea Gaudenzi is the Chairman of the ATP, and Massimo Calvelli is the chief executive officer. Mark Young is the Vice Chairman, and David Massey and Alison Lee lead the European and International groups, respectively.

The ATP Board of Directors includes the chairman, three people who represent tournaments, and three people who represent the players. The player representatives are chosen by the ATP Player Council.

Chairman: Andrea Gaudenzi
Player representatives
- Pablo Andújar
- Nick Basing
- Mark Knowles
- Eno Polo
Tournament representatives
- Gavin Forbes
- Christer Hult
- Chris Kermode
- Herwig Straka

The ATP Player Advisory Council has ten members. They give advice to the Board of Directors, who can choose to accept or reject their ideas. As of 2023, this Council includes players ranked in the top 50 in singles, players ranked between 51 and 100 in singles, top 100 doubles players, and other members like a coach and an alumni player.

The ATP Tournament Advisory Council has nine members. Three representatives come from tournaments in Europe, three from the Americas, and three from the International Group of tournaments.