“There are three weeks between the French Open and Wimbledon,” he told TennisMagazin.de. “Grass is the only surface on which a Masters 1000 tournament is not played. This means that between Rome and the Canada Masters in the summer, the ATP will have no premium content for the fans for (more than) two months.

“Because almost all players start in the middle of the three grass weeks before Wimbledon, a grass Masters makes sense.”

In all likelihood, a grass Masters would not be created from scratch, but would instead see a pre-existing event elevated to Masters 1000 status.

Therefore, the two grass ATP 500 events of Queen’s and Halle, which currently occupy the same slot in the calendar, are clearly the best options.

“The Germans love tennis and its history,” Gaudenzi continued. “It’s the same with the UK market. It has the same chance as Germany of a grass Masters. It offers the advantage that the players are already in London before Wimbledon. But, London already has Wimbledon. Our plan is that there will be 10 ATP Masters 1000 tournaments in the future.”

As in 2021, this year the ATP tour has just eight Masters events after the Chinese swing, including the Shanghai Masters, was cancelled due to Covid restrictions.