Hordoff: Roger Federer's ATP WTA Merger Idea a Stunt to get More Twitter Followers

Dirk Hordoff, the Vice-President of the German Tennis Federation, has said Roger Federer's suggestion that the ATP & WTA Tours should be merged  was short-sighted and a way to get more Twitter followers.

Hordoff is a well known tennis administrator and has also been a coach to Rainer Schuttler, Janko Tipsarevic and Vasek Pospisil in the past.

Speaking to Stats Platform, Hordoff said, "That's short thinking. That's not enough. It starts with the ITF [International Tennis Federation] and the grand slams. That's where you start.

With a merger of ATP and WTA, no problem has been solved for the time being.

It is also critical to demand this in these media-free times. He just needs more followers on his Twitter account. So, he uses a proposal without substance.

I am in favour of discussing this whole issue with substance. But a message on Twitter can't seriously bring this forward."

Federer is already one of the most followed tennis players on social media. He has 12.7 million followers on Twitter.

According to analysis from the Socialbakers website, the Swiss tennis legend has gained only approximately 1,000 new followers since making his tweet earlier this week.

Federer's suggestion did receive support from various quarters including Rafael Nadal, Billie Jean King, Simona Halep, Petra Kvitova as well as the chiefs of the ATP & WTA Tours - Andrea Gaudenzi and Steve Simon.

Australia's Nick Kyrgios was not in support of Federer's idea. Vasek Pospisil said that the ATP had already been working on this idea for a very long time while WTA player Jamie Hampton said Federer & Nadal were trying to piggyback on an idea mooted by Billie Jean King for many years now.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2W2eL8r