'Cutting doubles would destroy careers' - angry players urge ATP rethink — SkimNews
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- Henry Patten was among the men’s doubles players behind an open letter urging the ATP to rethink its 2028 overhaul; 137 current players, 28 legends and 20 national federations signed it.
- ATP proposed 16-team doubles fields at Masters 1000 events and eight-team fields at smaller tournaments from 2028, along with a 10% prize-money allocation for doubles instead of 20%.
- Andrea Gaudenzi chairs the ATP board, which includes four tournament and four player representatives and will vote on the proposals at next month’s ATP Finals in Turin.
- Sem Verbeek, one of the letter’s architects, said, “We’re at risk of losing a discipline of tennis which is historic - but has a big future,” adding that the proposals would “destroy careers, livelihoods and dreams.”
- Lloyd Glasspool and Julian Cash, the 2025 Wimbledon champions who became world No. 1s, accused the ATP of trying to “kill part of the sport” when the reforms were revealed in July.
- Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan said they would support the group considering legal action; the twins led a 2005 lawsuit against the ATP when it planned radical doubles changes, and Mike called the current proposals anti-competitive.
- ATP says the overhaul is based on data-led analysis of costs, revenue and viewership, with fewer singles players entering doubles placing severe strain on standalone events; it says the goal is to strengthen tournaments while maintaining doubles’ role.
Why it matters: The proposed change would shift doubles’ prize-money allocation from 20% to 10% and halve Masters 1000 fields to 16 teams, with the difference going to singles players. For the more than 150 doubles players behind the letter, this is a direct contest over careers and livelihoods; next month’s ATP board vote is the decision point.
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