By Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
The announcement of the wild card entries for the ATP Tour’s Atlanta Open had certain tennis fans scratching their heads. After the incredible run of Chris Eubanks to the Wimbledon quarterfinals it has even more people confused. The added scrutiny to the wild card selections also may have uncovered a possible violation of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program.
On June 27, the Atlanta Open announced its player field for its July 22-30 event that included a main draw singles wild card entry to Georgia Tech player Andres Martin, still an amateur player who will compete another collegiate season for the Yellow Jackets. Also announced as wild card entries were six-time champion John Isner, a former standout at the University of Georgia, and French standout Gael Monfils.
The Atlanta Open, under former tournament director Eddie Gonzalez, had a local tradition of giving the top-player at the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech University a wild card into the main draw of singles on alternating years as Georgia Tech is located just blocks away from the Atlantic Station tournament site in the middle of Atlanta and the University of Georgia has a massive and passionate fan base who support not only the two-time reigning national champion football team but the six-time NCAA men’s tennis champions. Since Martin received the main draw wild card in 2022 (registering an impressive first round win over Thanasi Kokkinakis), it was expected that in 2023 it would be the University of Georgia’s turn to receive the main draw wild card. When Georgia freshman Ethan Quinn dramatically won the NCAA singles title in May, joining Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe as freshman to win this prestigious title, it seemed obvious that Quinn would get the entry into Atlanta, especially since the U.S. Tennis Association had already announced that Quinn would receive a main draw wild card into the U.S. Open as an American winner of the NCAA singles championship.
However, new Atlanta Open tournament director Peter Lebedevs announced that Martin would get the main draw wild card again, despite the fact that he lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament that Quinn won and that Quinn beat Martin 6-1, 6-4 in Georgia’s regular season match with Georgia Tech earlier in the year on Georgia Tech’s home courts.
Colin Beazley of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, reporting on the press event where the wild cards were announced here https://www.ajc.com/sports/state-sports/atlanta-open-announces-2023-tournament-field/Z67PB2GBBNFM7DKNBMWVVDBNHU/ wrote, “The tournament offers several wild-card entries, one of which is designated for the top-ranked player at either Tech or Georgia. The entry typically rotates between the schools, but Tech has the entry for the second consecutive year as part of an agreement to use the school’s facilities as practice courts during the event.”
Daniel Cole, Communications Manager of the International Tennis Integrity Agency, in response to whether the awarding of wild cards in an exchange for services or in a barter agreement was in violation of their rules, wrote “To confirm, this is not permitted within the terms of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP).” Cole then wrote, “The specific clause relating to wildcards is below: D.1.k. No Covered Person shall, directly or indirectly, offer, pay or accept any money, benefit or Consideration for the provision of a wildcard to an Event. Consideration is a defined term in the TACP, as follows: B.8. “Consideration” refers to anything of value except for money.” (The link to the rule can be found here: https://www.itia.tennis/tacp/rules/
When contacted to ask for a statement on why Martin and not Quinn was awarded the main draw wild card, Angela Lang, the public relations contact for the Atlanta Open, referred to a press release that would be issued in a few days with regard to the situation. On July 3, the Atlanta Open issued a press release that announced that Quinn would receive a qualifying round wild card and would be joined in the qualifying rounds of the tournament by Eubanks, who despite being born and raised in Atlanta and being an All-American at Georgia Tech in 2017 was also not awarded a main draw wild card. The day of the announcement of the Eubanks qualifying entry came two days after he sensationally won his first ATP singles title in Mallorca, which was one of the most popular victories on the ATP Tour this season. This also came three months after his emotional and celebrated run to the quarterfinals of the Miami Open as a qualifier where he cracked the top 100 in the ATP rankings for the first time. Of course, Eubanks has since continued to ride his wave of success and is now the biggest story in American tennis and a global sensation with his Wimbledon performance.
The Atlanta Open press release on July 3 quoted Quinn saying, “It is such an honor to get to play so close to my new home of Athens. Since coming to Georgia it’s been a dream to play in the Atlanta Open. I am so grateful for this opportunity and very grateful for both Manny Diaz and Jamie Hunt for getting me prepared to play this event but also extremely appreciative of Peter and the board of directors to help me start my new pro career at such a sought-after event. I look forward to getting to play in front of family and friends and enjoying this incredible tournament.”
With regard to Eubanks and Quinn, Lebedevs said in the July 3 press release, “We are thrilled for Chris Eubanks in earning his first ATP Tour title over the weekend and we can’t wait to see him again in Atlanta We’re also very excited to add Georgia Bulldog Ethan Quinn as a wild card among the qualifying competition. Having Chris and Ethan join Atlanta fan favorites like Andres Martin and John Isner in the field is something local tennis fans really enjoy. There are some very talented players in the field which will translate to a lot of competitive matches.”
Following the Eubanks upset win over Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Wimbledon fourth round on July 10, the Atlanta Open sent out another press release re-emphasizing the Eubanks participation in the qualifying rounds of the tournament.
