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Stan Wawrinka recently took umbrage at the Grand Slam tournaments angling for a new 'Premium Tour', which will see all four Majors merge with the other big events that are held on the ATP Tour annually.
The Swiss recently spoke to L'Equipe, France's leading sports magazine, about tennis officials looking to reform the game. As it is right now, tennis is difficult to follow for a casual fan, leaving a lot to be desired in terms of revenue.
While the four Majors are justified in their efforts to make the sport more marketable as a product, Wawrinka believes that their actions would hurt lower-tier events.
"Their proposals are to have even more power, to make the ATP and the WTA disappear, to keep the Masters 1000, and to kill the 500 and the 250," Stan Wawrinka told L'Equipe. "But why does no one say: 'You are crazy?' Nothing in this project is good for anyone except them."
The 38-year-old stated that the Grand Slams are solely focused on financial gains, suggesting that they do not prioritize the best interests of the sport.
"The Grand Slams have zero transparency on their accounts," Wawrinka said. "They do not work for the vision of the future of tennis, have no desire to work in the direction of the players and the youngest, to cut part of their cake."
Stan Wawrinka has won one match on the ATP Tour in 2024
Stan Wawrinka is currently in dire need of some form. The three-time Major winner has only won one of his four tour outings this year, which came in the first round of the 2024 Argentina Open against home favorite Pedro Cachin last month.
In his other three matches, the Swiss was edged out by higher-ranked opponents like Adrian Mannarino, Nicolas Jarry and Tomas Machac. Wawrinka, however, can take pride in his resurgence since a foot injury derailed his 2021 and 2022 ATP Tour season.
Stan Wawrinka began last year ranked well outside the men's top 100. He hit a rich vein of form in Indian Wells though, beating World No. 8 Holger Rune in three sets en route to the fourth round, where he lost to Jannik Sinner.
Since then, the former World No. 3 has only gone from strength to strength. The 38-year-old reached his first ATP final in nearly four years at Umag last July, where he dropped a close three-setter to big-hitting Alexei Popyrin. He will be eager to give a good account of himself at the Miami Masters next week.
