LONDON — It’s a disappointment, say doubles players when the ATP shows them their future: fewer opportunities to play and less money.
The men’s governing body plans a series of measures to restructure the doubles circuit in 2028: cutting prize money from doubles and redirecting it to singles players; reducing doubles draws at tournaments. A low blow for doubles players, who quickly organised themselves after learning where the circuit might be heading.
“We got together here at Wimbledon and none of us agree with the ATP’s proposals. We’re all on the same page,” Marcelo Arévalo told CLAY in London.
“Tennis is living its best moment and is in spectacular financial shape. This is a time when opportunities should be expanding, and what could be coming hurts us. It surprises me. It should be the complete opposite: I don’t understand why there’s a proposal to put so many colleagues’ careers at risk in times of such prosperity. Several could lose their jobs,” the two-time Roland Garros doubles champion told CLAY.
The Salvadoran and Italian Andrea Vavassori, representatives of the doubles circuit on the Player Council, received the proposal informally: adjusting the prize money split from the current 80%-20% — between singles and doubles — to 90%-10%; reducing doubles draws at Masters 1000 events from 32 to 16 pairs, and at ATP 500s from 16 to 8.
Doubles players know where they stand. They are aware their discipline is not comparable to singles and that it generates far less public interest. However, they ask that the historical weight of doubles be recognised and that its enduring appeal at tournaments be valued.
“What is the need to cut a discipline that has given so much to the history of tennis, and that people enjoy all over the world, including the Olympic Games and Davis Cup?” asked Miguel Reyes-Varela, currently ranked 78th in the world and a former top 50 player.
“It makes no sense. Hopefully dialogue can be opened with the tournaments as well to find real solutions,” he told CLAY. The Mexican says it is “exhausting” for doubles players to constantly have to defend their rights.
“We all make decisions based on business, on money. That is perfectly understandable. But it cannot be the only compass, the only path forward. There have to be different pillars in decision-making.”
Arévalo, a former world number one, is confident they will have the support of singles players.
“I want to believe that they will understand, and they will give us the support, because doubles is just part of the history of tennis. It’s not like something that started, like, five years ago,” he said.
Problems that persist
The frustration among doubles players also stems from a feeling that their proposals are not being heard. They communicate well among themselves, organise, put forward ideas — and are not listened to.
British player Julian Cash offers examples of problems that have gone unresolved for several years, such as the high number of walkovers in the doubles draw at every event.
“We want whoever’s the best at the game to play, whether that’s a singles player or a doubles player… but we wanna see a lot less walk over. A lot less singles guys kind of tanking because they’ve just played a long match or whatever. Speaking to (Jonas) Bjorkman and other older guys, back in the day, they used to play five sets and have an hour and a half rest, drink some water, go and play five sets of doubles. Maybe the sport’s evolved a bit since then, but I think if you look if you’re not willing to play full out, then don’t play it.”
The lack of marketing the ATP dedicates to doubles is also a concern for his partner Lloyd Glasspool: “We’re always gonna be stuck in a rut until that changes. They will always say that they can’t justify it because doubles loses so much money anyway, but it’s kinda like if you’re running a business just accepting that things aren’t good, like, you’ve gotta do something productive, proactive to change that.”
Gerard Tsobanian, president and CEO of the Madrid Open, had already flagged this in an interview with CLAY.
“Unfortunately at tennis tournaments, doubles doesn’t sell enough to justify the cost it represents for a tournament. I would like every singles player to also play doubles. Or for every doubles player to be required to have a certain singles ranking,” said the French-Armenian executive.
Ross Hutchins, the ATP’s Chief of Sport, had told CLAY in January: “We recognise the untapped potential of men’s doubles and are committed to increasing its visibility and impact.”
“Doubles brings an exciting and dynamic element to the sport, but unlocking its full entertainment value requires a new narrative and strategic innovation. Building on the format and rules tests initiated in 2024, we are now shifting focus towards scheduling optimisation,” Hutchins added.
“There’s no business out there that thinks they can survive without marketing, so I don’t see why we would be any different,” said Glasspool.
Hutchins’s words have not aged well. This could be the beginning of a civil war in tennis.
