Doubles players rebelled against tennis associations and threatened legal action after attempts were made to limit the number of players at tournaments after Wimbledon.
The plan to tighten the qualifying criteria has now been shelved following angry warnings from at least 49 players who signed a fiercely critical letter. The ATP was forced to make a U-turn after players claimed the amendments amounted to an “unlawful boycott” and “exclusion”.
The proposed new rule would effectively reduce the number of places available for specialist doubles players at tournaments in Hamburg, Gstaad, Newport, Bastad and Kitzbühel.
Telegraph Sport reported in March that the ATP was planning to involve more singles players in doubles to increase its commercial appeal.
However, the ATP withdrew the plan after more than half of the world’s top 20 doubles players joined the professional men’s tour in complaining. It has been suggested that the main reason for the backlash was that the tour concluded it had not given players sufficient notice.
One top-50 player, who wished to remain anonymous, said of the move: “It’s a threat to the entire doubles ecosystem. They’re essentially cutting courts for doubles players.
“It’s all well and good to say ‘it’s just a trial, it might never happen’, but would anyone be happy if their employer said they wanted to give them ‘a trial layoff’?”
According to the complaint letter seen by Telegraph Sport, the ATP’s intention was to “restrict one side of the doubles draw to players who rely on their singles rankings to qualify, so that only seven or eight teams can qualify using doubles rankings, and six teams can qualify using singles rankings”.
“Doubles teams that would normally qualify… will no longer be eligible to compete unless doubles spots reserved for players relying on singles rankings are not filled,” the letter said.
Reintroducing entry restrictions later in the season remains a possibility, which the player group believes could “destroy the ability of some doubles players to continue making a living from their sport”.
Jamie Murray, the world number 25 in doubles, has reportedly not signed the letter to the tour. Earlier this year, former world number 1 Murray spoke of a creeping crisis for doubles. “At the moment, it feels to me like [doubles] “It’s kind of set up to fail,” Murray said. “Nobody, from a Tour perspective, seems to be thinking about making it a more valuable proposition.”
The players who signed the complaint letter wrote: “This unlawful deprivation of the opportunity to earn ranking points and prize money will have consequences throughout the year.
“Moreover, a continuation of [the restrictions] would pose an existential threat to the entire doubles game throughout the year and beyond, in violation of the ATP’s obligations to its player members. We look forward to the lifting of the new entry restrictions prior to the applicable deadline for each of the tournaments. If the restrictions are not lifted, the players involved will explore their legal options.”
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