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New look Professional men's tennis to undergo changes in 2000
Posted: Friday December 10, 1999 12:26 AM
LONDON (AP) -- In a move to simplify the maze of men's tennis, the ATP Tour, the Grand Slam Committee and the ITF -- the world governing body of the game -- will run a joint season-ending event beginning next season. Namd the Tennis Masters Cup, the event replaces the ATP Tour World Championships and the men's Grand Slam Cup, organizers announced Thursday. The ATP Tour has also changed the name of its Super 9 events -- its top-tier tournaments -- to the Tennis Masters Series, which will culminate with the Masters Cup. Four of the Masters events will b played next season in the North America and five in Europe with the first Masters Cup in Lisbon and moving to Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 2001. The ATP Tour next season will also begin using a new straightforward points system with every player beginning the year at zero. Points will be awarded from 18 events: the four Grand Slams, the nine Tennis Masters Series tournaments, and the best finishes in five other events. The points system is weighted with more points awarded for Grand Slams, followed by Masters events and so forth with the leader at the end of the season crowned the ATP Champions Race winner. Larry Scott, chief operating officer of the ATP Tour, said the changes were aimed at "bringing some clarity" to men's tennis. "Sports fans are used to following a race, but tennis has never had that," he said, referring to the new ranking system. Scott said replacing two season-ending events with one would "clean up the end of the year." Scott said the three bodies that run men's tennis had "mended fences" and acknowledged the "alphabet soup" of organizations running the game confused casual fans.
"Sports is a business and we're in the entertainment industry and the competition is way too tough out there," he said. "Tennis can't afford to be fighting internally."
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