- ATP Launches Carbon Tracker App for Players
- Lack of Transparency in Tennis’ Carbon Reduction Efforts
- Potential for Meaningful Change in Tennis’ Carbon Reduction
For the majority of the players competing at the Queen’s Club this week, the grass season will be a welcome departure from the usual pace of the ATP Tour. Next week, there will be no rush to a new city in pursuit of points and prize money, as Wimbledon will immediately follow.
Tuesday, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), the regulating body of men’s tennis, announced the release of an app called the ATP Carbon Tracker as part of an effort to address the significant carbon footprint of its players.
The application enables users to monitor their annual trips, distance traveled, and carbon emissions produced by their journeys. Players will have the opportunity to offset each voyage.
In an interview, Massimo Calvelli, the ATP’s chief executive officer, stated, “Our top priority is offsetting in the short term. Long-term, players’ understanding of their choices and their effects is more significant.”
Participating athletes include Dominic Thiem, Cameron Norrie, Andrey Rublev, and Emil Ruusuvuori.
Thiem believes that locker room awareness of climate change is increasing. “I have the impression that it was hardly a topic a few years ago. But then it arose,” Thiem stated.
According to the ATP, travel accounts for 90% of the organization’s ecological footprint. However, the overall carbon footprint of tennis is comprised of many factors, including energy, food, and debris, especially at tournaments.
Concerns persist regarding how the sport is addressing and mitigating its carbon footprint. The ATP signed the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework in 2021, committing to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2030 and to Net Zero by 2040. Signatories also include various tennis governing bodies and the four grand slam tournaments.
The official process required signatories to submit annual public updates on their carbon reduction progress. Transparency is a fundamental tenet for ensuring that organizations are held accountable for the commitments they claim to uphold.
Such transparency is lacking in tennis. In the case of the ATP, the organization conducted a comprehensive carbon audit for the 2019 season, which it claims served as the foundation for the development of a sustainability strategy. The organization audited its operations in 2022. Their audit results have not yet been released to the public.
The ATP claims that the new player app will provide the organization with a more complete picture of its emissions via player data and that it will be more transparent as a result. There will be news and information that we dislike, but that is the way it is. Calvelli stated, “I believe we must transparently address this.”
Efforts have been made by the grand slam tournaments, but without providing a complete picture of the emission reduction process.
Since 2022, according to the Australian Open’s administrators, they have been monitoring greenhouse gas emissions and have developed an eight-source reduction plan. Roland Garros has participated in renewable energy and food waste initiatives, and the tournament’s fleet of vehicles is now 76% electric or hybrid. The US Open’s green initiative program contains oddly repeated references to carbon offsetting and recycled plastic, two controversial topics.
None of the organizations have published comprehensive information regarding their emissions and the development of their measures. In the interim, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has provided little information regarding any carbon reduction initiatives. The WTA has not yet responded to questions from the Guardian.
However, Wimbledon has set the standard for carbon accounting by articulating its strategies for carbon reduction and detailing the event’s total annual emissions since 2018, excluding emissions generated by spectator travel. According to the sustainability chart of Wimbledon, the tournament released 8,323 tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2017.
This year, 68 tournaments are spread across the globe on the ATP Tour. Each engagement is a separate enterprise. The ATP should devise universal carbon reporting standards for its tournaments as its ultimate objective. “Our ultimate goal is to implement, at the appropriate time, a set of standards that every tournament must adhere to from a sustainability standpoint,” said Calvelli.
The ATP claims that this first iteration of its app, which has been in development for some time, is primarily an educational tool designed to increase player interest and alter the culture.
Nonetheless, how it evolves could present an intriguing opportunity to effect meaningful change. In an intelligent appeal to the fiercely competitive nature of its athletes, a leaderboard will rank the most carbon-friendly players, with a $100,000 charity fund distributed to the top three players at the end of the year.
Each year, the ATP distributes bonus purses, which this season total $21.3 million, to players who meet certain scheduling obligations. Rather than players simply offsetting their travel, a contentious issue for many experts who believe that the primary focus should be on reducing emissions, the ATP could also emphasize the importance of attempting active measures, such as eschewing private flights in favor of commercial flights, taking trains when feasible, and objectively reducing their carbon footprint in other ways. Attaching carbon reduction measures to the bonus pool could provide greater incentives for participants.
Despite the enormous emissions produced by each tennis player, tennis accounts for a negligible portion of global emissions. Advocates are one of the positive roles players can perform. “Tennis is, fortunately, a popular sport with a lot of attention. Thiem stated, “I believe that we players can also have a positive influence on people, so we must strike a balance.”
Alexander Zverev was the first player to consent to an annual carbon audit of his travels in 2017. He discovered that he and his colleagues had traveled over 500,000 kilometers and produced 250 tonnes of carbon dioxide. His lifestyle, however, nullified the message that he held himself accountable. Zverev is also sponsored by a private jet company, and he uses social media to promote his travels. If the ATP wishes, it will have to address these conflicts and encourage them to lead by example.
