ATP's Gaudenzi casts vision as Djokovic, pros move to help

Andrea Gaudenzi didn't forecast this. No one did. But as ATP chairman since this brave new year and decade began, he inhabited the role and inherited a crisis.

He's got ideas, too. And better yet, this player-turned-executive is bound to espouse them to a broad audience. That's precisely what he did this week, offering on video that professional tennis experiences "fragmentation" due to so many competing alliances and allegiances, resulting in "untapped potential."

As those comments go, there's nothing new under the sun. But it bears repeating, and from the mouths of those at the highest levels. With Guadenzi re-upping that message during the COVID-19 pandemic, a light is shined on the nothing-short-of-fragmented way that decisions have been made under pressure. Case in point: Roland Garros rescheduling for two weeks after the presumed US Open in September, sans a heads-up to anyone (save Rafael Nadal, at the 11th hour).

Gaudenzi knew crisis management would be part of this gig, perhaps just not so soon. He came ready, armed with an MBA and a successful career in media, entertainment, and other sectors. Now he gets to flex all that his education and expertise have to offer.

He also has a major (pun purely intended) opportunity, if not license, to effect change as to how Grand Slam events support each other and especially players. He wants to not just mind but bridge those gaps, and at such a time as this.

Further, he has designs on how the ATP and WTA tours might work increasingly well together.

"It is extremely important, and I think it is one of our biggest advantages towards our competitors [other sports and entertainment platforms]," he said. "Not only do we have a great women’s product, but also our audience is fairly split among women and men. A combined event, I strongly believe, is a better event both on site and [through the] media. ... It is really a no-brainer and actually, we are lucky to be at the forefront in that regard. Other sports should be looking at what we have done so far."

Meanwhile, the upper echelon of active players also has a plan. Enter Novak Djokovic.

The ATP player council president, top-ranked Djokovic sent a letter with cascading opportunities for monetary peer support to his fellow independent contractors, with tiers for the Top 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, and more pros, in singles and doubles.

The ATP will be better for it, and maybe the game itself—at the professional level but also in the fertile training grounds globally—will be as well. This pandemic has catalyzed a range of creative homespun or even homebound hackathons, internally or shared with others via technologies like Zoom. This is the perfect time for remedies and ideation to be bandied about by those wearing warmup suits and those in business suits. Alone. Together.

Not all navel gazing is bad, and pro tennis could stand to pierce its belly button.

People like Gaudenzi and Djokovic (with Nadal and Roger Federer having his back on the proposal) can work well off of each other. This is crisis response as volley, with actions meaning more than words and everyone pivoting on seemingly shaky, unforgiving ground to take the best shot they can. In a perfect world we certainly don't have, what they're doing now is a lot like how they would otherwise be competing on clay right now.