How the kingmaker of men’s tennis sent the sport into turmoil by trying to save it - The Athletic

Andrea Gaudenzi, the ATP chairman, attempted to reform men's tennis by introducing two-week ATP Masters 1000 tournaments aimed at increasing player earnings and transparency, but the changes sparked significant controversy. In March 2021 at the Miami Open, Canadian player Vasek Pospisil, then ranked No. 67, publicly unleashed a profanity-filled outburst against Gaudenzi after reportedly being screamed at in a player meeting for trying to organise collective player action. The dispute emerged amid post-COVID tensions, with players discovering their prize money had fallen by 60 percent compared to 2019 levels, prompting Pospisil to attempt to organise a boycott among the 96-player field.