Groth Proposes Change To Tennis Structure

First Serve expert analyst Sam Groth has proposed a radical change to the tennis calendar structure that could benefit fringe players in giving them a chance to gain entry into more prestigious events.

Groth’s proposal is very similar to the way golf works, with tournaments being held consistently in certain regions in different tours and the players excelling will gain entry to higher level competitions.

“Golf could do this better, but the ATP for example has a very set calendar and players can pick where they want to go below that,” Groth said on The First Serve on 1116SEN.

“Instead of Tennis Australia going out and funding players, why don’t they put on a 25-30 week tour here in Australia?

“All the regions can have their own seperate tours with the ATP Tour above them and you can still earn ranking points. If you do really well you can jump up into that main echelon,

“Maybe you have orders of merit like golf does where if you finish in the top two on the Australian Tour you get entry into a certain amount of events on the ATP Tour or Grand Slam events.”

The 32-year-old stresses that the support of lesser ranked players on tour is paramount and that this could easily be a way to grant them every chance of making their career aspirations a reality.

“The conversation always comes up of how we can support lesser ranked players better, well if you could offer them a tour where they could travel less and keep costs down whilst earning ranking points,” He said.

“If you support them with less costs so that it makes transitioning easier, I think that could be a good option.”

Australian World No.116 Chris O’Connell echoed Groth’s sentiments on Monday night’s show with Brett Phillips and Groth, stating that having more local events will boost the level of tennis being played in the region.

“I completely agree, I haven’t thought much about it and trying to focus on getting back into the swing of things when the tour starts again,” He said.

“I think it’s a really good idea, even later on in the year if we can get some internal tournaments in Australia or the Oceania area it’s going to be good for the tour.”

If you missed Monday night’s show, head to https://www.thefirstserve.com.au/live-radio