Former world number one Rafael Nadal wants Chris Kermode to continue as the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) chairman.
The time left in Chris Kermode's contract is only till later this year. There have been talks about a few tennis players wanting to have a change so that there is new leadership at the top.
World number one Novak Djokovic is the president of Players Council. Rafael Nadal is preparing for the tennis tournament in Indian Wells. The Player Council had a meeting on Tuesday to discuss various topics and one of them was if Chris Kermode should be the chairman of the Association of Tennis Professionals or should they appoint a new chairman.
As per the report from Express, Rafael Nadal has decided to go with Roger Federer than Novak Djokovic in backing Chris Kermode for the chairman of ATP after 2019. Rafael Nadal says Chris Kermode needs to continue mainly because it is the best decision according to him for the long term gain of the sport.
"I believe in long-term projects. I am not a very big fan of changing things very often. I really think there's a lot of things to do - we need to sign a contract for the World Tour Finals, and there's a new ATP Cup. When you change, you go through a process. A new president needs time to know all the things and create a team, so in my opinion changing the president will stop the process of improving our sport," said Rafael Nadal, as reported by Express.
Tennis legend Roger Federer earlier said he will not involve himself in the politics in tennis. The Swiss tennis ace did say to hold talks with Novak Djokovic because he did not get to talk to the Serbian at the 2019 Australian Open. Roger Federer was knocked out early and Novak Djokovic went on to win the first Grand Slam event.
According to Express, Novak Djokovic is one of the leading tennis players who want Chris Kermode not to continue as ATP chairman beyond his present term. Roger Federer was not present at Tuesday's meeting, but he intends to have a word with Novak Djokovic.
"First, I was not at the meeting of the players. And I have not yet met Novak. But I intend to do it, of course. After, I do not want to talk about it in front of you. My opinion will not upset the result of the vote, anyway. All this is political and I do not want to be involved," said Roger Federer.
