ATP Officially Appoints Massimo Calvelli as CEO
The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour has officially announced the appointment of Massimo Calvelli as the new Chief Executive Officer of the ATP Tour, starting 1st January 2020. Reports had begun circulating last month that Calvelli was in line to overtake from Chris Kermode, who was the outgoing CEO and Chairman of the ATP. The men's ATP Tour had earlier announced Andrea Gaudenzi as the Chairman of the ATP Tour as the Board of the tour had decided to split the posts of the Chairman and CEO.
The 45-year-old Calvelli had earlier worked with NIKE, where he has been in charge of Nike’s tennis marketing since 2014, and worked closely with superstars like Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams. He is also a close friend of Gaudenzi, which should make their collaboration and transition into the new structure at the ATP smooth. Prior to NIKE, Calvelli was the International Enterprise Director for Wilson Sporting Items.
The Tuscany-born Calvelli also tried to make it on the professional circuit as a player but only had limited success - peaking at No. 255 in the world rankings in 1995. There are several issues that Calvelli and Gaudenzi will have to start working on - including talks to combine the new ATP Cup with the newly formatted Davis Cup - as well concerns about prize money on the tour. The current CEO of the women's WTA Tour, Micky Lawler, has expressed that the WTA and ATP Tours should be unified and it remains to be seen if Calvelli and Gaudenzi would work with the WTA in that direction as well.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2EivhJb
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