The grass-court section of the ATP Tour is perhaps the most exciting period of the tennis calendar.
Wimbledon is the showpiece event of the professional circuit, and with events such as Queen’s and Halle also taking place in June, the grass-court season will continue to be a major draw for tennis fans.
However, with less than 10 grass-court events taking place on the ATP Tour, one can only come to the conclusion that the governing body is missing an opportunity.
Should the ATP Tour introduce a new grass-court Masters event? 💭
If so, where should the tournament be held?
The grass-court season has long been lacking a second showpiece event – one that would attract more fans to the sport.
The ATP Tour should introduce a grass-court Masters event
The ATP Tour is dominated by hard-court events, with over 30 taking place throughout the calendar year.
For comparison, there are only seven grass-court tournaments on the ATP Tour.
| Dates | Tournament name and city | Surface | Level |
| 9 Jun-15 Jun | BOSS OPEN Stuttgart, Germany | Grass | ATP 250 |
| 9 Jun-15 Jun | Libema Open ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands | Grass | ATP 250 |
| 16 Jun-22 Jun | HSBC Championships London, Great Britain | Grass | ATP 500 |
| 16 Jun-22 Jun | Terra Wortmann Open Halle, Germany | Grass | ATP 500 |
| 22 Jun-28 Jun | Mallorca Championships presented by Ecotrans Group Mallorca, Spain | Grass | ATP 250 |
| 23 Jun-28 Jun | Lexus Eastbourne Open Eastbourne, Great Britain | Grass | ATP 250 |
| 30 Jun-13 Jul | Wimbledon London, Great Britain | Grass | Grand Slam |
Moreover, of the nine Masters events, there are precisely zero held on grass.
While it is certainly more difficult to host grass-court events – due to the need for adequate weather conditions and the cost of maintaining the surface – the disparity seems disproportionate.
The attractiveness of grass-court events cannot be understated, demonstrated by the consistent popularity of Wimbledon and grass-court events across Europe.
And with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner having emerged as the two best grass-court players of this generation, the ATP Tour should look to capitalise.
Of course, an ATP grass-court event may need to be sacrificed in order for a new Masters event to take place, or a current tournament could be upgraded to the Masters level.
Either way, the ATP Tour is missing a trick by not having a grass-court Masters event.
The event would certainly be popular – it could attract more fans to the sport and encourage more ATP stars to participate in grass-court events.
Andy Roddick’s take on a grass-court Masters
Andy Roddick, the former world number one, has previously spoken of his desire to see a grass-court Masters introduced on the ATP Tour.
However, he acknowledged why this may not be possible.
“The other thing about having a Masters on grass, yes I wanted that forever. It should be the case,” Roddick said on the Served Podcast.
“The courts at the end of Wimbledon are trashed, the wear and tear of them, you can’t practice on them as a seeded player.”
“Roger Federer, the time he was going for his sixth win, could practice exactly 45 minutes a day on the outer courts of Wimbledon.
“You don’t get on stadium like you do at the other [Slams], it’s untenable on grass.”
