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Doubles tennis faces a grim future amid ATP tour changes
🇫🇮 Finland /Sports

Doubles tennis faces a grim future amid ATP tour changes

From Helsingin Sanomat · () Finnish

Translated from Finnish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

Analysis Named sources Context piece
  • Tennis player Reilly Opelka sparked debate by mocking doubles players for low attendance at their matches.
  • Doubles players criticized ATP's plans to halve doubles draws and reduce prize money, arguing it would make their careers impossible.
  • The article argues that doubles is becoming a niche curiosity, with declining popularity and reduced match lengths, despite ATP's logical business decisions.

The future of doubles tennis appears bleak as the sport grapples with declining popularity and significant changes proposed by the ATP tour. The controversy ignited when American player Reilly Opelka, known for his singles success, sarcastically commented on the low attendance at doubles matches via social media.

Save doubles.

— Reilly OpelkaReilly Opelka posted a sarcastic comment on social media about the low attendance at doubles matches.

Opelka's remarks drew a sharp retort from doubles player Henry Patten, who posted a photo of Opelka playing a sparsely attended singles match. This exchange highlighted a deeper issue: the ATP's proposed plans to reduce the size of doubles draws by half and cut prize money for doubles players from 20% to 10%. Top doubles players have voiced strong opposition, stating these changes would make it impossible for those outside the top 30 to earn a living.

Save Opelka.

— Henry PattenHenry Patten responded to Opelka's comment by posting a photo of Opelka playing a sparsely attended singles match.

The article contends that doubles has been in a decades-long decline, transforming from a format where top stars regularly competed into a niche curiosity. Recent changes, such as shortening Grand Slam doubles matches from best-of-five to best-of-three sets and replacing the traditional mixed doubles event at the US Open with a more exhibition-style format, further underscore this trend. While these decisions may be logical from the ATP's business perspective, they signal a grim outlook for the future of professional doubles tennis.

The math is simple for everyone outside the top 30. Earning a living will become impossible.

— Top doubles playersDoubles players expressed their concerns about the ATP's proposed changes to prize money and draw sizes.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Helsingin Sanomat in Finnish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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