ATP Tour sets out safeguarding policy with training for players and potential for bans

By Canadian Press on December 19, 2025.

LONDON (AP) — The ATP Tour set out a new safeguarding policy Friday which aims to ensure players and staff feel safe from abuse on tour and know how to report inappropriate behavior.

In a move which mirrors work done by the WTA in women’s tennis, the ATP’s code of conduct sets out how investigations should be conducted and a range of potential punishments, from reprimands up to permanently revoking access to its tournaments.

The ATP also says it will launch training for players, coaches and staff throughout next year.

“Everyone involved in our events — from players and their teams to staff and volunteers — deserves to feel safe, respected, and valued,” chief executive Eno Polo said in a statement. “This program helps make that a reality. By introducing clear protections against abuse, we’re strengthening the culture of tennis and aligning our sport with global standards of governance and care.”

The code of conduct covers areas like bullying, sexual harassment and violence, as well as behavior which could constitute an “abuse of trust” in a professional relationship.

It also commits players, coaches and tour personnel to report any concerns about abusive behavior and to tell the ATP’s safeguarding director if they are facing investigations from police or social services about “any behavior constituting either a criminal offence or a safeguarding concern.”

Friday’s launch of the safeguarding program brings more structure to the tour’s approach, which was previously in the spotlight when the ATP commissioned an investigation in 2021 into German player Alexander Zverev. The ATP said in 2023 that the investigation found “insufficient evidence” to substantiate domestic abuse allegations against Zverev, a three-time Grand Slam runner-up, who denied wrongdoing.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

The Associated Press