ATP Council member and Canadian star Vasek Pospisil has blasted comments made by Nick Kyrgios that went against the proposed idea of a merger between the men's and women's tennis tours.
The tennis season was suspended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the hiatus will continue at least until mid-July, depriving lower-level players who depend solely on tournament winnings of the chance to earn a living.
Roger Federer took to social media last month, calling for a merger between the ATP and WTA bodies which was met with support from the likes of Rafael Nadal, Garbine Muguruza and Simona Halep.
Despite the support from a number of tennis stars, Kyrgios slammed the suggestion on social media.
The Aussie asked as to whether or not majority of the ATP tour had been consulted, questioning if it would be the appropriate direction to take.
https://twitter.com/NickKyrgios/status/1253035307970121728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1253035307970121728&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fau.sports.yahoo.com%2Fvasek-pospisil-slams-nick-kyrgios-merger-criticism-021928102.htmlhttps://twitter.com/NickKyrgios/status/1253253075726249984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1253253075726249984&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fau.sports.yahoo.com%2Fvasek-pospisil-slams-nick-kyrgios-merger-criticism-021928102.htmlThe comments made by Kyrgios prompted Pospisil to take a swipe at the Aussie.
World No.93 Pospisil said Kyrgios had done 'zero due diligence' on the matter while admitting he would have no issues saying this to the Canberra native's face.
"You know what, it's because a lot of players express, or people in general, will express an opinion without having any information, just because they feel like they want to say something," Pospisil said on an episode of TSN In Depth.
"That might be the case with Nick.
"To be honest, he's in no position to express an opinion when he just hears about this for the first time and has done zero due diligence.
"There are some guys like that and I'll have no problem telling him that to his face."
Just yesterday, WTA chief Steve Simon said a merger with the men's ATP "makes all the sense in the world" but that it would not take the form of "an acquisition".
"I'm not afraid of the full merger; I never have been," Simon said.
"I would certainly be the first to support it, because I think then you truly have the business and the strategic principles all aligned, which is what you need to do.
"Obviously it's a long and winding road to get there, but I think it makes all the sense in the world.
"This isn't about trying to save the WTA. We'll be fine, but look, if we're going to do the right business thing and we're finally going to bring the sport together, I think the WTA would be very supportive of this concept."
- with AAP
from WWOS http://wwos.nine.com.au/tennis/nick-kyrgios-blasted-by-vasek-pospisil-over-atp-and-wta-merger-comments/1a83d86d-066e-4a0d-ab3d-1087ca112fa5
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