"Everyone is fighting with each other, it would be much easier if everyone worked together": Andy Murray on 'super tour' & rifts between tennis bodies

British tennis icon Andy Murray recently addressed the 'super tour' rumors and spoke about the disharmony among tennis bodies.

Murray will compete at the Dubai Tennis Championships 2024 in the United Arab Emirates, starting with a match against Canada's Denis Shapovalov on February 26.

Ahead of the match, he answered a few questions posed by The National on the present and future of tennis. The Brit expressed his concerns while highlighting the lack of coordination between the top organizing bodies in tennis. He said:

"Tennis is in a difficult spot just now because I don't think anyone knows exactly what's next. I know there's issues between Tennis Australia and the ATP; the Grand Slams and the ATP and the WTA.

"Everyone's looking out for their best interests and that's not always the best thing for the sport. Everyone is sort of fighting a bit with each other and it would be much easier if everyone actually worked together for the common good. And I don't know. That's what I hope will happen; I'd say it's unlikely."

Andy Murray further touched upon the rumored 'super tour' that all the Grand Slams might be working on in collaboration with the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia.

"There's obviously been discussions with Saudi Arabia and the PIF; who's going to work with them and what's that going to look like? Will that be a tournament that happens there? Will it be multiple tournaments? Will there be like this 'premier super tour' that the Slams are creating with Saudi Arabia? I don't know. I don't know what it's going to look like," Andy Murray added.

All four Grand Slams and the top tier tennis events, presumably the ATP and WTA's 1000, are expected to form an exclusive event, possibly called the 'premier tour' or 'super tour', similar to the F1 tour.

The Grand Slams will supposedly oversee the planned tour in making, with the ATP and WTA focusing more on the 500 and 250 tournaments. As per the reported blueprint, the players in the Top 100 on both men's and women's circuits would receive entry into the proposed tour, with Saudi Arabia's PIF as the funding associate.

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Andy Murray and Denis Shapovalov tied 1-1 in the head-to-head

Andy Murray and Denis Shapovalov shake hands

Andy Murray will attempt to edge ahead of Denis Shapovalov in terms of their head-to-head record when he takes the court at the Dubai Tennis Championships on Monday. He is currently tied at 1-1 with Shapovalov.

Murray first met the Canadian in the year 2021 in a Round-of-32 showdown at Wimbledon and suffered a 4-6, 2-6, 2-6 defeat. However, the Brit leveled things up with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 victory over Shapovalov at the Madrid Open the following year.

Both players have had forgettable starts to 2024 as they stand with a 1-5 win/loss record since the turn of the year. Denis Shapovalov has suffered first-round losses in four out of five tournaments he's played thus far. His solitary win came against Hugo Gatson at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier.

Similarly, Andy Murray too has succeeded just once in 2024 thus far. He defeated Alexandre Muller in the opening round of the Qatar Open.