Roger Federer made a plea for women’s tennis equality on Wednesday, calling for the merger of the two gender-specific governing bodies that oversee the sport’s professional tours.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion, who is recovering from knee surgery while sports around the world have been shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic, expressed his opinion in a string of posts on Twitter.
“Am I the only one thinking that now is the time for men’s and women’s tennis to be united and come together as one?” Federer wrote, sparking a flurry of responses from fans and fellow players.
The professional era in tennis started in 1968, and the ATP was founded in 1972 and has run the men’s game since. The WTA was founded in 1973, uniting the women’s professional game into one tour.
The idea proposed by Federer, and others before him, would be to combine the two into a single body that deals with both men and women.
It probably should have happened a long time ago, but maybe now is really the time. <br>These are tough times in every sport and we can come out of this with 2 weakened bodies or 1 stronger body. <a href=”https://t.co/30SbbAla5g”>https://t.co/30SbbAla5g</a>
The social media posts were met with plenty of enthusiastic replies, including from Rafael Nadal and some of the world’s top female players.
“As you know per our discussions,” Nadal, a winner of 19 Grand Slams, wrote to Federer, “I completely agree that it would be great to get out of this world crisis with the union of men’s and women’s tennis in one only organisation.”
‘One voice … has long been by vision for tennis’
Simona Halep and Garbine Muguruza, both recent Wimbledon champions, also gave the thumbs-up to Federer’s idea.
So did Billie Jean King, the American great who founded the WTA and tried unsuccessfully to unite the men’s and women’s tours that decade.
“I agree, and have been saying so since the early 1970s. One voice, women and men together, has long been my vision for tennis,” King tweeted in reply to Federer. “The WTA on its own was always Plan B. I’m glad we are on the same page. Let’s make it happen.”
There has never been a united tennis tour, but male and female players do play at the same tournaments several times each year, including at the four Grand Slam tournaments.
Much of the season, however, it completely separate.
“It’s too confusing for the fans when there are different ranking systems, different logos, different websites, different tournament categories,” Federer said in a response to a reader’s comment.
Ex-WTA chief exec previously called for merger
He emphasized he was “not talking about merging competition on the court” but rather the two governing bodies.
“These are tough times in every sport,” Federer said, “and we can come out of this with 2 weakened bodies or 1 stronger body.”
Former WTA chief executive Anne Worcester called for a merger of the men’s and women’s tours in an interview with Forbes this month.
Tennis Canada sees opportunity
Tennis Canada said a merger could create myriad opportunities to grow the sport moving forward.
“Uniformity of rules, denomination, fan-friendly access, increased influence, increased commercial force,” a spokesperson for Tennis Canada said Wednesday in an email to CBC Sports. “Any idea to improve the world-wide governance of our sport by re-uniting, by bringing international bodies together to join forces, we believe is a good idea and we should pay attention to it. Tennis should not be competing with tennis, but with other sports and entertainment out here.”
The national sport organization said a merger would give rise to Canadian tennis star-power.
“Our Canadian stars are also stars of their respective Tours, each trying to maximize exposure separately. A merge can only better contribute to their stardom globally, which is a great news for the promotion of tennis back here in Canada.”
The spokesperson said a merger would also help close the gender-equity gap still existing in tennis.
“There could still be hurdles, but it would probably be a step in the right direction,” they wrote to CBC Sports.
All professional tennis has been suspended until at least mid-July because of the coronavirus pandemic, plunging the sport into financial problems because of a loss of income from things like ticket sales and media rights.
The 38-year-old Federer had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in February. The Swiss great had planned to be sidelined for at least four months before the outbreak suspended sports around the world. He has tweeted videos of himself practicing during the pandemic.
NEW YORK – Toronto Blue Jays reliever Chad Green and Canadian slugger Tyler O’Neill of the Boston Red Sox were named finalists for the Major League Baseball Players’ Association’s American League comeback player award on Monday.
Chicago White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet was the other nominee.
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. were named player of the year finalists.
The award winners, selected via player voting, will be named Saturday before Game 2 of the World Series.
Green, who missed most of the 2022 and ’23 seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery, was a high-leverage option for the Blue Jays this past season and filled in at closer over the second half of the campaign.
The right-hander converted his first 16 save opportunities and finished the year with a 4-6 record, 17 saves and a 3.21 earned-run average over 53 appearances.
O’Neill, a native of Burnaby, B.C., also endured back-to-back injury-plagued seasons in ’22 and ’23.
After being traded to the Red Sox in the off-season, O’Neill set an MLB record by hitting a homer in his fifth straight Opening Day. He finished with 31 homers on the year and had an OPS of .847.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
NEW YORK – Florida Panthers centre Sam Reinhart was named NHL first star of the week on Monday after leading all players with nine points over four games last week.
Reinhart had four goals, five assists and a plus-seven rating to help the Stanley Cup champions post a 3-0-1 record on the week and move into first place in the Atlantic Division.
New York Rangers left-winger Artemi Panarin took the second star and Minnesota Wild goaltenderFilip Gustavsson was the third star.
Panarin had eight points (4-4) over three games.
Gustavsson became the 15th goalie in NHL history to score a goal and had a 1.00 goals-against average and .962 save percentage over a pair of victories.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Deshaun Watson won’t finish the season as Cleveland’s starting quarterback for the second straight year.
He’s injured again, and the Browns have new problems.
Watson ruptured his right Achilles tendon in the first half of Sunday’s loss to Cincinnati, collapsing as he began to run and leading some Browns fans to cheer while the divisive QB laid on the ground writhing in pain.
The team feared Watson’s year was over and tests done Monday confirmed the rupture. The Browns said Watson will have surgery and miss the rest of the season but “a full recovery is expected.”
It’s the second significant injury in two seasons for Watson, who broke the glenoid (socket) bone in his throwing shoulder last year after just six starts.
The 29-year-old went down Sunday without being touched on a draw play late in the first half. His right leg buckled and Watson crumpled to the turf. TV replays showed his calf rippling, consistent with an Achilles injury.
He immediately put his hands on his helmet, clearly aware of the severity of an injury similar to the one Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers sustained last year.
As he was being assisted by the team’s medical staff and backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson grabbed a ball to begin warming up, there was some derisive cheers and boos from the stands in Huntington Bank Field.
Cleveland fans have been split over Watson, who has been accused of being sexually inappropriate with women.
The reaction didn’t sit well with several Watson’s teammates, including star end Myles Garrett, the NFL’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, who was appalled by the fans’ behavior.
“We should be ashamed of ourselves as Browns and as fans to boo anyone and their downfall. To be season-altering, career-altering injury,” Garrett said. “Man’s not perfect. He doesn’t need to be. None of us are expected to be perfect. Can’t judge him for what he does off the field or on the field because I can’t throw stones for my glass house.
“Ultimately everyone’s human and they’re disappointed just like we are, but we have to be better than that as people. There’s levels to this. At the end of the day, it’s just a game and you don’t boo anybody being injured and you don’t celebrate anyone’s downfall.”
Backup quarterback Jameis Winston also admonished the uncomfortable celebration.
“I am very upset with the reaction to a man that has had the world against him for the past four years, and he put his body and life on the line for this city every single day,” he said. “The way I was raised, I will never pull on a man when he’s down, but I will be the person to lift him up.
“I know you love this game. When I first got here, I knew these were some amazing fans, but Deshaun was treated badly and now he has to overcome another obstacle. So I’m going to support him, I’m going to lift him up and I’m going to be there for him.”
The injury is yet another twist in Watson’s tumultuous time with the Browns.
Cleveland traded three first-round draft picks and five overall to Houston in 2022 to get him, with owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam approving the team giving Watson a fully guaranteed, five-year $230 million contract.
With a solid roster, the Browns were desperate to find a QB who could help them compete against the top AFC teams.
The Browns had moved on from Baker Mayfield despite drafting him No. 1 overall in 2018 and making the playoffs two seasons later.
But Watson has not played up to expectations — fans have been pushing for him to be benched this season — and Cleveland’s move to get him has been labeled an abject failure with the team still on the hook to pay him $46 million in each of the next two seasons.
Watson’s arrival in Cleveland also came amid accusations by more than two dozen women of sexual assault and harassment during massage therapy sessions while he played for the Texans. Two grand juries declined to indict him and he has settled civil lawsuits in all but one of the cases.
Watson was suspended by the NFL for his first 11 games and fined $5 million for violating the league’s personal conduct policy before he took his first snap with the Browns. The long layoff — he sat out the 2021 season in a contract dispute — led to struggles once he got on the field, and Watson made just six starts last season before hurting his shoulder.
Cleveland signed veteran Joe Flacco, who went 4-1 as a starter and led the Browns to the playoffs.
Before Watson got hurt this year, he didn’t play much better. He was one of the league’s lowest-rated passers for a Cleveland team that hasn’t scored 20 points in a game and is back in search of a franchise QB.
