De Villiers dejará de ser "el capo" de la ATP

[Passing Shot]

Etienne de Villiers, Executive Chairman and President of the ATP, governing body of the men's professional tennis circuit, today announced that he will not be renewing his contract at the end of the 2008 season. Executive Chairman since June 2005, Mr de Villiers has overseen the most extensive set of changes to the ATP Tour since its inception in 1990.

The changes, which will see $1 billion of new investment into the ATP Tour, include record breaking levels of prize money for players, new, world class tournaments, an enhanced, healthier calendar structure, unprecedented levels of promotional spend and a new brand look and identity based on extensive consumer research, designed to make the Tour more fan friendly.

Etienne de Villiers said:

"I was tasked by the ATP Board, three years ago, to create a vision that would involve bold changes for our sport. I believe that has now been achieved. I believe we have delivered the biggest modernisation of the ATP Tour since its inception, have attracted unprecedented levels of investment into men's tennis and have begun to feed the growing appetite for men's tennis globally, both in established and emerging markets. I am incredibly proud of what the Board and my dedicated team have achieved for men's tennis and I am honoured to have played a part in taking our great sport to the next level. Now that this much needed change has been realised I believe this is the right time for someone new to build on this strong platform. I leave knowing, without doubt, that finally our players, tournaments and above all our fans have the foundations of a world class sport they truly deserve.'

Heineken Auckland Open Chief Executive and ATP Board member Graham Pearce said:

"Etienne has been an outstanding leader for our sport over his three year term, not least in the past months as we were forced to defend ourselves, successfully, in a Delaware court of law. He was asked to instigate change to our sport and he has done that and more. The levels of investment into facilities and promotion, as well as rises in prize money, are unprecedented for our sport and are set to take men's tennis to the next stage of global popularity. Etienne has put in place a programme of change that is far reaching and exciting, and the end result is a sport that will be reinvigorated and ready to fulfil its true potential. Men's tennis owes him a huge debt."

Etienne de Villiers joined the ATP in June 2005 as Chairman and became Executive Chairman and President in November 2005. As well as overhauling the management structure of the ATP, Mr de Villiers undertook for the first time, extensive, global research to understand the fan's perspective of the sport. The result was the overhauling of the doubles format to create a more popular version of the team game; fan friendly initiatives such as Hawkeye being introduced to the ATP Tour; a series of measures designed to improve player health including the end of 5 set finals and byes for seeded players at Masters tournaments resulting in substantial increases in player turn out and the first increases of player prize money in over five years.

Mr de Villiers, working with the tennis industry, has also put in place a series of changes designed to unlock the potential of men's tennis, not least the creation of a new ATP World Tour calendar with key tournaments strategically placed to ensure 'swings' of events leading into the sport's five 'pillars' - the four Grand Slams and the 'Barclays ATP World Tour Finals' (formerly known as the Tennis Masters Cup). Working together with the Sony Ericcson WTA, in 2011 five of the nine 'Masters 1000s', the ATP's top tier, will be major mandatory combined events - a format that fans acknowledge is one of the sport's major attractions and mirrors the success of the Grand Slams.

In addition, post US Open, the calendar will now be strengthened by an Asian swing of three weeks that will showcase the world's best players at new tournaments - Shanghai "Masters 1000", and the Tokyo and Beijing "500s". This will be followed by an enhanced European indoor swing concluding at the new look Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London's iconic O2 Arena. The new Tour calendar ensures a healthier schedule for players, with less travel across continents and less congested sections of the season.

Mr de Villiers will fulfil his current three year term as ATP Executive Chairman, a term that ends in December 2008 and will now assist the ATP Board in their recruitment of a successor.

http://www.atptennis.com/1/en/2008news/devilliers_decision.asp

Me parece una buena noticia 

[CARLOS]

Que se junte con Muñoz y hagan una empresa de representación de jugadores, seguro que les llueven las ofertas 

[raqueton]

Qué gran noticia. El Sr. Disney era una rémora para el tenis.

[orlando.vargas]

Dicen que el tipo era la mierda.

Ojala que llegue otro con diferentes pensamientos

[GANDALF]

El se va pero su hijo de Frankenstein aun vive, todo lo que hizo de cambios seguiran, y la tarea del nuevo sera unir y lo que Mr Disne a roto. Pero sera dificil pues esta bastante hipotecado. Aun asi hay esperanza.

[la raza]

Pongo una noticia en castellano porque yo de inglés se lo justito...



El Presidente Ejecutivo de ATP anunció ayer en Londres que en diciembre próximo abandonará su cargo

N.Y.
El surafricano Etienne De Villiers llegaba a la Asociación de Tenistas Profesionales (ATP) en junio de 2005, sustituyendo al estadounidense Mark Miles, que llevaba quince años como Presidente Ejecutivo de la ATP y a quien muchos ponían en entredicho. La entrada de De Villiers fue recibida con grand expectación: nuevos aires y nuevas ideas para un circuito que necesitaba, tras la quiebra de la empresa ISL, buscar soluciones para seguir en el primer plano del deporte.

Tres años después, la posición de De Villiers era más que delicada. Ha lanzado propuestas para todos los gustos. Algunas, un 'fiasco', como el invento de un 'round robin' en los torneos menores; otras, exitosas, como que las finales de los Masters Series se disputen al mejor de tres sets en lugar de cinco y que los principales cabezas de serie estén exentos de la primera ronda en esos torneos de categoría inmediata a los Grand Slams.

Pero no hay que olvidar que a quien primero hay que contentar es a los protagonistas, los jugadores. Y éstos hacía ya un tiempo que estaban enfrentados con su Presidente Ejecutivo. Es más: en marzo pasado incluso habían frenado, con una carta firmada por los 'top 20' –que contaba con las rúbricas de oro de Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal y Novak Djokovic, las tres primeras raquetas mundiales por este orden por aquel entonces–, que De Villiers fuera renovado en su cargo. Querían oír otras propuestas, otras opciones.

También se 'rebelaron' con la supresión de Hamburgo como Masters Series... Aunque la resolución del caso, en un tribunal de Delaware (Estados Unidos), dando la razón a ATP reforzó a De Villiers.

Sin embargo estaba clara la escisión con los tenistas, que ya no confiaban en su presidente, y ayer el surafricano anunció en Londres que no va a renovar su contrato, que expira en diciembre de este año. "Hace tres años se me pidió crear un entorno que favoreciera un cambio profundo en nuestro deporte.

Ahora que este cambio tan necesario se ha realizado, es el momento adecuado para que alguien nuevo construya sobre esta plataforma sólida", afirma De Villiers en un comunicado. "Creo que sacamos adelante la mayor modernización del ATP Tour desde su creación. Estoy increíblemente orgulloso de lo que mi consejo directivo y mi dedicado equipo lograron para llevar a nuestro gran deporte a otro nivel", concluye. El pulso cayó del lado de los jugadores.

http://www.sport.es/default.asp?idpublicacio_PK=44&idioma=CAS&idtipusrecurs_PK=7&idnoticia_PK=537428

[Sombrerero loco]

Que se junte con Muñoz y hagan una empresa de representación de jugadores, seguro que les llueven las ofertas 

uff no me nombres a ese "señor", que me violento
a ver a quien nombran ahora entonces.....porque el torneo de madrid se cambia igual, se supone