ATP chief Mark Miles wants tennis to stay in the Olympic programme but would like to see it become more of a team sport. "As an Olympic sport, tennis has become more important since the 1988 Games in Seoul," the chief executive of men's professional tennis told reporters during his two-day visit to St Petersburg over the weekend.
"But we would like to see tennis more of a team sport ... it would make tennis even more important for the players and the spectators."
At present a player represents his country in a singles draw and teams up with a compatriot for the doubles. Both draws are separate.
Various team ideas have been floated for Olympic tennis,
centred on countries being drawn against each other rather than individuals like at the Hopman Cup. In that international team contest, male and female teammates play their opposite numbers in singles before joining up for the mixed doubles. The winning nation advances.
Miles said, however, that the ultimate decision on the issue lies with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Some within the IOC feel that tennis does not belong in the Olympic family because many big-name players choose to stay away from the sport's biggest spectacle.
The ATP awarded ranking points for the first time to those participating at the 2004 Olympics, but some top players, including Australia's Lleyton Hewitt, were still absent from Athens.
"The ATP can only encourage players to take part in the Games, but they (players) are the ones who decide where and when to play," Miles said.
He also said that players should plan their schedules more carefully after organisers of the Masters Series tournaments in Paris and Madrid voiced concern after their events were hit by a wave of withdrawals due to player fatigue and injuries.
"I don't think the problem is the (large) number of tournaments, it's the players choosing to play more than is good for them physically," Miles said.
"We could have only one tournament each week and a player could still play too many weeks."
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