Stan Wawrinka is not a fan of the rumored so-called Premium Tour, which is an idea that's been floated in tennis circles recently.
The so-called Premium Tour is still only in discussions, and there aren't clear details of what it would look like, but most likely, it would be a closed Tour, which would be made out of the Grand Slams and the ATP and WTA 1000 events.
It would be the premium of what tennis can offer, so the best events with the best players in a calendar that is not as dynamic as the current one. For Top 10 players, it's a pretty good deal because they'd have to play fewer events and have more money to make, which is why some, like Taylor Fritz, support the idea.
It's something that the Grand Slams are apparently driving in the background, and Stan Wawrinka is not a fan of it. In a talk with L'Equipe, the Swiss veteran tore into the Grand Slams, accusing them of being utterly selfish and wanting to grab the power in tennis and shut down the ATP and WTA Tour.
"The Grand Slams have zero transparency on their accounts. They do not work for the vision of the future of tennis, have no desire to work in the direction of the players and the youngest, to cut part of their cake."
He also added that they do not care about the future of tennis, which a Premium Tour would undermine, in his opinion.
"Their proposals are to have even more power, to make the ATP and the WTA disappear, to keep the Masters 1000 and to kill the 500 and the 250. But why does no one say: “You are crazy "? Nothing in this project is good for anyone except them."
It's a pretty tricky question because I'm pretty sure there are tons of top players who would support having to play only the Masters and the Grand Slams, but the exclusivity of it might not be the best thing. We never would have had a Raducanu US Open win if this model was in place.
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