WTA chief Steve Simon says he “would love to see” a new team competition added to the calendar of the women’s circuit but world No.1 Ashleigh Barty is wary of the scheduling mayhem that could occur.
Team competitions are all the rage on the men’s tennis tour at the moment in the aftermath of a successful third edition of the men’s Laver Cup.
The ATP Cup will make its debut in Australia in January 2020, the Roger Federer-backed Laver Cup came to life in 2017 and the maiden Davis Cup Finals in its new format commence in Madrid this November.
These events, however, only involve players from the men’s circuit, and now that the mixed team Hopman Cup has been axed, the women have just one team competition in the books – the ITF-run Fed Cup.
“I’m certainly open and would love to see another team competition, because I do think it’s fun for the fans,” Simon told reporters at the Wuhan Open last week.
“But obviously the challenge is where in the calendar do you do it that doesn’t come to the detriment of the existing events, and add an extra burden on the athletes?”
The Laver Cup has garnered a lot of attention since its inception two years ago, and this year it received the backing of the ATP Tour which lent its marketing and PR support, without awarding any ranking points to the players involved.
“What I do like about the Laver Cup is it’s not your traditional country by country,” Simon said.
“I think getting players together on a team that you normally don’t see would be really fun for the fans.”
Several WTA players, including world number seven Petra Kvitova, followed the Laver Cup action unfolding and are intrigued by the format and the unique partnerships it created on the court.
The biggest concern for most players is where a new team-v-team tournament would fit in an already overcrowded and gruelling tennis calendar.
“I think probably with the calendar that we have at the moment it’s challenging to fit much more in,” Australian Barty said.
“If those events were to take place, I think there would be an adjustment across the whole calendar.”