ATP-WTA Merger Collapses Over Revenue Share Dispute

Plans for a joint commercial venture between the ATP and WTA are now on indefinite hold. The merger talks fell apart over disagreements on how to split revenues, ending months of negotiations that had seemed to be nearing a finish just earlier this year.

Back in January, ATP chief executive Eno Polo sounded bullish about the prospects, telling reporters the tours were “quite close to reaching an agreement”. Then Valerie Camillo stepped into the WTA chair role, and that optimism evaporated. She rejected the terms her predecessor Steve Simon had already accepted. Simon, who led the WTA for a decade, left the position at year’s end.

The money gap is stark. The ATP pulled in $294m in annual revenue during 2024, while the WTA brought in $142m. This gap has become the central sticking point—the WTA wants a fairer slice of combined earnings than what the ATP originally put forward.

Without a merger, the WTA’s financial squeeze is tightening. It’s already cutting staff at some tournaments, including Wimbledon. The tour also bailed out of its three-year Saudi Arabia deal one year early, moving the 2026 WTA finals to Indian Wells, California instead of Riyadh.

The two tours are taking different cost-cutting paths. The ATP’s proposal—discussed with players—would slice doubles draws at ATP 1000 events down to 16 pairs and trim the doubles share of prize money from 20% to 10%. The WTA isn’t planning to cut its doubles programme.

The merger is stuck. Both tours now face a tougher road ahead—tighter budgets, competing priorities, and no clear way out.