Chris Kermode best choice for ATP Chief In Years!

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 3rd December 2013

Chris Kermode best choice for ATP Chief In Years!

epa02546331 The shadow of Andy Murray of Great Britain is seen reaching for the tennis ball during action against Juergen Melzer of Austria in their mens singles match at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 24 January 2011. Murray won in three sets. EPA/BARBARA WALTON |

Chris Kermode doesn’t officially take office as the ATP World Tour’s new executive chairman and president on New Year’s Day but the Englishman is already prepared to talk about the key issues that face him in his new job.

Kermode is known as a players’ man after successfully holding down two roles in the male tennis hierarchy; tournament director of the AEGON Championships at London’s Queen’s Club since 2008 and more recently managing director of Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

In the later role he spoke with all the leading players last month, with the exception of fellow Brit Andy Murray who is a long-term supporter. Kermode sees one of his roles as making all players’ existence as painless as possible.

“The concerns are generally about calendar and health,” he said. “I’m there to help that transition so that they can play as long as possible. I need the players to know I’m there for them 24/7.”

Kermode was himself a competitive player, although he only managed to climb to 742th place on the rankings in early 1986. He can talk in the language of the player or the executive, and he continued: “It becomes very emotive to start talking about the good of the game.

“Whilst that has great moral value I’m a bit more pragmatic in that it is about the good of the business of the game. There is a difference. I believe the tour needs to build its global brand equity, so people become more aware of what it is — telling that story through from January to the Finals is incredibly important.

“The ATP has two functions of a governing body; officiating and health of players, but it is in the sports entertainment market. I am coming to it from a different place, having started with a very clear vision of what the Finals should be.

“I made a few key decisions early on in terms of the presentation, the lighting of the court, and for me it is important not to become too much ‘tennis-insider like’ but view it from a casual, sports fans’ viewpoint about what they ought to expect. You can lose sight of that if you are surrounded by too many insiders.”

Kermode certainly feels the ATP should be making a large contribution into the policing of doping and corruption and he feels the element of secrecy adopted so far needs to be dropped. “It is a simple business model, it is about caring who wins, and it has to be real.

“It is incredibly important to present that. I cannot give an opinion right here and now because I want to know in both cases what has been funded, what other sports are doing so you can benchmark yourself against them and match what they are doing. Perhaps we are. I need to know.”

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