LONDON — The ATP Tour on Friday launched a brand new safety coverage geared toward making certain gamers and employees really feel protected from abuse on tour and know learn how to report inappropriate habits.
In a transfer that mirrors the WTA’s work in girls’s tennis, the ATP’s Code of Conduct units out how investigations will likely be performed and a variety of potential penalties, starting from self-discipline to everlasting revocation of match entry.
The ATP additionally introduced that it’ll start coaching for gamers, coaches and employees all through subsequent yr.
“Everybody concerned in our occasions, from athletes and their groups to employees and volunteers, deserves to really feel protected, revered and valued,” CEO Eno Polo stated in a press release. “This program will assist make {that a} actuality. By introducing clear protections towards abuse, we’re strengthening the tradition of tennis and aligning our sport with international requirements of governance and care.”
The code of conduct covers areas akin to bullying, sexual harassment and violence, in addition to conduct that would represent an “abuse of belief” in skilled relationships.
It additionally requires gamers, coaches and tour officers to report any considerations about abusive habits and to tell the ATP’s Safeguarding Officer if they’re being investigated by police or social companies for “prison offenses or conduct of security concern.”
Friday’s launch of the safety program brings additional construction to the tour’s strategy, which had beforehand attracted consideration when the ATP commissioned an investigation into German participant Alexander Zverev in 2021. The ATP introduced in 2023 that an investigation discovered there was “inadequate proof” to substantiate home violence allegations towards the three-time Grand Slam runner-up, however denied wrongdoing. He settled the case in June 2024.
