CEO Of Tennis Australia, Craig Tiley, believes American tennis players, led by 2023 US Open champion Coco Gauff serve as the “commercial engine” to the WTA.
Speaking during 2023 Laver Cup in Vancouver, Tiley discussed the development and emergence of current lot of Americans in WTA. He also claimed that Gauff, the WTA #3 seed and her compatriots can play a key role in the growth on women’s side of the tour. Tiley is of the view that American women doing well on the tour can help the sport commercially.
Gauff along with consistent occupants Madison Keys and Jessica Pegula remains as one of three Americans in the WTA top 20 slot.
“Well, look, we have been fortunate. We came through an era of having great champions, American champions. We have the U.S. players reaching the highest levels of the game. That’s why Coco Gauff is going to be so great for the sport. It is the commercial engine of the sport globally. So, I think that’s great for the sport, having more of that. I do see some light at the end of the tunnel with that,” Tiley said.
“That’s no disrespect, there is a lot of great European players, but the market in the U.S. is just so much bigger, and I think that’s good for the sport globally,” he added.
Tennis Australia CEO went on to say that the WTA would better drop the ideas of merging with the ATP. Moreover he asserted the need of equal opportunities for men and women in the sport.
The season-opening United Cup which will inaugurate the 2024 campaign, is one such example of collaboration between the two tennis circuits.
“I think the WTA gets helped by the ATP and the WTA doing more things together. It’s the great benefit of our sport. You know, most of the Grand Slams have been paying, for the last 40 years, been paying equal prize money. One of the great benefits of our sport are men and women have equal opportunity,” Tiley said.
United States in late December will kick of the new tennis calendar with their Untied Cup title defense in Perth. ATP #1 Novak Djokovic and WTA #2 Iga Swiatek, representing Serbia and Poland respectively, will also feature in the mixed team event. While Jessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz will defend the title for US, 2023 US Open titlist Gauff has opted to kick off her season in Auckland.
The eighteen teams have been drawn into six groups with three playing in Sydney and the remaining three getting the Perth. United Cup gets underway on Dec 29, 2023.