'I'd love to see it': Should tennis have a grass court Masters?

(Getty/Luke Walker)

With the recent announcement that Italy would host a lead-in tournament to Wimbledon in 2028, it seems like the perfect time to reopen the debate about adding a grass court Masters event.

There is still no ATP or WTA 1000 event on grass, despite every other surface having them, usually leading into a Grand Slam. 

On the men's side, there are three events on clay and six on hard court, while on the women's side, there are two on clay and eight on hard court. All of the clay court 1000s lead into Roland Garros, while the U.S. Open has the American hard court swing, which features the Canadian Open and Cincinnati. 

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You could even argue that the Australian Open has lead-in 1000-series hard court events at the tail-end of the year, in Shanghai and Paris on the ATP tour and Beijing and Wuhan on the WTA tour. 

Sharing his thoughts on the matter with The First Serve, experienced tennis journalist and commentator Courtney Walsh believes scheduling is the first obstacle to overcome. 

"The brief break between Roland Garros and Wimbledon is a significant issue when it comes to hosting a Masters event on grass," Walsh stated. 

"Ideally, there would be at least one month clear between the two majors, rather than a fortnight between the men's final and qualifying beginning at Roehampton."

A new grass court event in Italy indicates to Walsh that there is "clearly scope" to extend the tennis calendar, given the number of cities and countries that could host tournaments.

"The addition of Italy means that it, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain now have primary tour events, while there is a Challenger on grass in Ireland as well, along with the Hall of Fame Championships in the U.S. the week after Wimbledon," he said.

The next barrier, according to Walsh, is which current tournament could be bumped up to a 1000-series event.

"There is also the quandary as to which event to elevate. Queens, given the addition of a women's event, now features the men's and women's in the same fortnight, but London hosting a Masters leading into Wimbledon seems a redundant idea," he explained.

"Halle has the tradition - Federer winning it as often as he did added to its history, and it is strange that Germany does not have a Masters. But elevating it would come at a considerable cost to Queens, which also has great tradition."

Walsh also noted that there is already a new Masters event to be held in Saudi Arabia, scheduled for 2028, alongside Italy's new grass court event, which complicates matters, hurting "established events" like Queens and Halle. 

Player welfare is another issue, given the backlash from many top players – including Australia's Alex de Minaur – about how crowded the tennis schedule is.

"But there are already complaints from players RE the season length, and stretching the season would have impacts on other licences and the calendar more broadly," Walsh said.

"It could be done, but it would present a significant logistical challenge when it comes to licences and preferred slots in the calendar for the majors, including the AO, given the ripple effect it would create."

To combat these scheduling and logistical issues, there is the idea that a grass court Masters doesn't necessarily have to be held in the lead-up to Wimbledon. 

After all, Paris currently has a major and a Masters event, but, as Walsh pointed out, "they are on different surfaces, in different parts of town, and with a significant gap between the events".

This is not to mention the maintenance required to keep grass courts in pristine condition, as well as having big enough facilities to host the higher draw size of a 1000-series event.

Still, as a grass advocate and Country Week Legend at Tennis Victoria's annual grass-court event, Walsh fondly remembers Australia's strong ties and history with the surface.

"How I wish we still had grass tournaments in Australia, given the magnificence of our courts here!"

However enticing a grass court 1000 event would be, especially given the splendour and tradition of grass court tennis, coupled with the holy grail that is Wimbledon, Walsh isn't confident it will happen.

"I'd love to see it, but it might just be in the too-hard basket."

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