Roger Federer proposes 'merger' of tennis associations, support pours in

Swiss tennis ace Roger Federer on Wednesday took to Twitter to proposean idea for a merger of the men's and women's association.

The men's division in the game is headed by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) whereas the women's division is headed by Women's Tennis Association (WTA).

The 20-time Grand Slam winner said that "probably should have happened."

Roger Federer posted a series of tweets elaboratinghis proposal as hesaid: "We can come out of this with two weakened bodies or one stronger body."

Federer added: "I am not talking about merging competition on the court but merging the two governing bodies that oversee the men's and women's professional tours."

"It's too confusing for the fans when there are different ranking systems, different logos, different websites, different tournament categories."

The American tennis legend Billie Jean King was one of the first to voice his support to Federer's idea, he said: "The WTA on its own was always Plan B. I'm glad we are on the same page. Let's make it happen."

King played a major role in the creation of WTA.

Federer's long-time on-pitch rival and 19-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal too joined the movement. He said: "It would be great to get out of this world crisis with the union of men's and women's tennis in only one organisation."

Many leading ladies in the game came forward to support Roger Federer's idea. These ladies included Simona Halep and Serena Williams.

Tennis has been on a halt since early March due to the on-going coronavirus pandemic. Players have been on a social media spree ever since and have shared various videos of them training or enjoying life with their loved ones.