"The ATP needs to step up" - Yuki Bhambri calls for increased exposure for doubles as he awaits Madrid Open fate amid trial of new rules
Yuki Bhambri spoke on the trial new rules adopted by the ATP at the Madrid Open.
It's the first weekend of the Mutua Madriid Open and the women's singles draw has progresssed to the third round while the men's singles event is into the second round.
The women's doubles event has also gotten underway but thanks to the new ATP trial that debuts in Madrid, the men's doubles draw is yet to be released. Some players still don't know whether they will get into the draw, including India's own Yuki Bhambri, ranked 56th in the world in doubles and winner of the BMW Open in Munich last week alongside Frenchman Albano Olivetti.
Earlier this month, the ATP Tour announced that Madrid will be the first tournament to test a new trial where only 16 spots in the 32-team draw will be reserved for players based on their doubles rankings. The other spots will be available for players who could sign up using their singles ranking, which means lesser opoortunities for doubles specialists to earn ranking points and prize money at these events.
The men's doubles event will strart on Tuesday in Madrid and Bhambri won't know until Sunday night if he makes the cut. It comes as no surprise then that he hasn't exactly warmed up to the experiment just yet.
"Obviously, it's a trial. So I don't know what to expect and I don't think the players also really know how it will work. I think, for the time being, it adds a lot of confusion, especially with the entry list and the deadlines and who's allowed to enter and who's not, because there are a lot of variables and factors," Yuki Bhambri told Sportskeeda a couple of weeks ago.
Bhambri acknowledged that the ATP officials are trying to lure more singles players to enter the doubles draw but is not so sure things will pan out that way.
"I think the goal obviously for the ATP Tour was to get more singles players to play. But I personally don't see that happening with the doubles being played in the second week of the Masters. I think a lot of singles players enter the doubles event more to get a feel of the court or to get a match in or some additonal practice," Yuki Bhambri said.
"I don't see any of the top singes players who are playing the second or third round of the singles tournament at the Masters wanting to spend extra time on the court, competing in doubles. They will be more focussed on their singles matches. So eventually, I think the doubles players will probably get in," he added.
"I think the ATP underestimtes the value of doubles" - Yuki Bhambri
Yuki Bhambri, who is not aware of which other tournaments the experiment will be tested at, believes that the ATP Tour should instead focus on marketing and promoting the doubles game and the doubles specialists to boost the format.
"I think the biggest change for me, personally, that the ATP could do is to increase its focus on marketing the doubles game. Doubles guys are almost neglibile if you see social media posts for example. It's the singles players who dominate the Tennis TV and the ATP Tour handles. It's only when someone wins the doubles tournament, you see a post about them on social media," Yuki Bhambri said.
"You could see that as recently as Miami as well when Rohana Bopanna and Matthew Ebden were up on the ATP social media pages only after they won the tournament. Promotion and marketing is a big, big deal. Just how they do it with singles, if they start doing it with doubles, fans will get to know a lot more about the players. That's definitely a big aspect of what the ATP can do," he added.
The 31-year-old Bhambri, who would also like to see doubles players wear similar jerseys with their names on the back, believes that doubles also needs more exposure on television and streaming platforms.
"Also, I think, make doubles matches more accessible on the apps and on TV. Add some commenatry. Make it into a product. I thnk the ATP underestimtes the value of doubles. A lot of people across the world play doubles and enjoy it and the ATP really needs to step up which obviosuly they haven't in a long, long time," Yuki Bhambri said.