ATP Records Significant Growth in Gross Revenue From 2013 to 2018

Former ATP boss Chris Kermode has shared some numbers which bear evidence of how the men’s professional tennis circuit has gone from strength to strength in the recent years.

ATP gross revenue up from $97mn in 2013 to $115mn in 2018

According to the former ATP CEO, the gross revenue of the governing body of men’s body rose from $97 million in 2013 to $115 million in 2018. He also quoted a figure which suggests how the men’s body benefitted from big-money sponsorship deals for tournaments over the last few years.

Kermode said the total prize money on the Tour ballooned from $85 million in 2013 to a whopping $135 million in 2018. Players on the circuit have also profited from the men’s body raking in bigger profits and revenue.

90 percent increase in players winning over $1 mn from men’s Tour

The former ATP CEO said between 2013 and 2018, there was a staggering 90 percent increase in the number of players winning over $1 million from the men’s Tour.

Performance-wise, there’s been robust growth in the number of players ranking between 50-100 and 150-200 in the six-year period.

Kermode said there was a 69 percent increase in the number of players ranked from 50 to 100 between 2013 and 2018, while the quantum of players ranked between 150 and 200 rose by 65 percent during the six-year spell.

How pandemic hit the ATP financially

However, the robust financial record of the governing body of men’s tennis snapped this year owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The expanding global footprint of the virus and the ensuing lockdown resulted in bulk cancellation of events on both the men’s and women’s Tours and millions in losses in terms of sponsorship money and ticket sales. However, the significant growth in revenue that the men’s tennis body registered between 2013 and 2018 would surely help it survive the debilitating impact of the pandemic.

It will also help the ATP plan for the next season which the minders of the men’s body hope will not be impacted quite as much by the pandemic.

However, the downturn in ATP financial fortunes due to the pandemic this year didn’t seem to impact the tournament earnings of the top players this year.

Twenty-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal took home Tour earnings of $3,856,127 this year. However, he still trailed Novak Djokovic, who earned $6,511,233.

Dominic Thiem, the Austrian athlete of the year, ranked second on the earners’ list, taking home $6,024,876.