Shorts: ATP, UK Padel, Liverpool Women

The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) has confirmed that its Chief Executive Officer, Massimo Calvelli, has decided to step down at the end of June 2025.

Andrea Gaudenzi, currently President of the organisation, will take on the CEO responsibilities on a temporary basis while the search for a permanent replacement continues.

Calvelli has held the position since January 2020 and has been involved in several key initiatives during his tenure, including ATP’s long-term strategic framework, OneVision. He has worked alongside Gaudenzi to oversee commercial restructuring and a significant increase in player compensation, which has grown by over $100 million from 2019 to 2025.

His departure comes shortly after ATP entered a multi-year partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) in February 2024. Under this deal, PIF branding has featured in ATP rankings and tournaments, with implications for future commercial and promotional activities across the sport. The agreement has prompted increased scrutiny and debate in the UK and globally about the influence of sovereign wealth funds in international sport.

During Calvelli’s leadership, ATP has also implemented its first environmental strategy and launched ATP Serves, a platform focused on social and community initiatives. He supported closer collaboration with the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) through the Tennis Ventures project, aimed at aligning commercial assets for broader growth in the sport.

The organisation has not disclosed the reasons for Calvelli’s departure.

The LTA and UK Padel have announced a strategic partnership to support and expand the UK Padel County Championships.

As part of this new partnership, the LTA will officially sanction the UK Padel County Championships as a Grade 3 event starting this year. This milestone means that players will have the opportunity to earn LTA ranking points, further integrating padel into Great Britain’s competitive sporting landscape.

The move aligns with the LTA’s ‘commitment to developing the domestic padel competition calendar and providing more structured opportunities for players on home soil.’

Looking ahead to 2025, the UK Padel County Championships will introduce an 18U junior category, expanding its reach to young athletes alongside the existing Open, Over 40s, Over 50s, and Over 60s events.

Nick Baker, CEO and Co-Founder of UK PADEL, commented, “The support of LTA will help us elevate the County Championships even further and encourage more counties to participate. UK Padel is dedicated to grassroots and amateur padel, and this partnership aligns perfectly with the LTA’s padel strategy and its vision of Padel Opened Up, and our vision of making the sport accessible to all ages and abilities.” 

As part of the agreement, the LTA will work closely with its local county associations to encourage even broader participation in the County Championships.

Tom Murray, LTA Head of Padel, said, “The LTA are thrilled to partner with UK PADEL by sanctioning the County Championships. A key strategy for the LTA is to enhance the padel competition landscape and make it more accessible and appealing for those wanting to compete at grassroots level. By working together with UK Padel, we can bring the sport to more players, more counties, and more communities across Great Britain.”

Andy O’Boyle has been appointed as Managing Director of Liverpool Women, marking his return to the club following his departure from Manchester United in 2024.

O’Boyle has replaced Russ Fraser, who held the role since October 2021 and had overseen the team’s promotion to the Women’s Super League. During Fraser’s tenure, Liverpool Women had relocated to the Melwood training ground and had confirmed a new stadium site in St Helens.

O’Boyle previously served as Liverpool’s Head of Fitness before spending two years as Deputy Football Director at Manchester United. His return has followed a wider restructure at Liverpool, with efforts made to integrate the women’s team operations more closely with the men’s side.

This move has followed recent leadership changes at the club, including the confirmed departure of director Susan Black, who is set to leave at the end of the 2024–25 season after 14 years with Liverpool. The changes have taken place during a period of increasing investment and attention towards the professional women’s game in the UK, with the Women’s Super League entering its first season under a new independent governing body.

Threepipe Reply has announced a new partnership with RL Commercial to help drive ticket sales across the Rugby League portfolio, including the Challenge Cup Final, Magic Weekend, and the Super League Grand Final, as well as the historic return of the Ashes.

Joe Steel, Director of Marketing & Communications at RL Commercial, commented, “We’re really excited to be working with Threepipe Reply across our major event portfolio, they bring a wealth of experience delivering strategic paid campaigns in the sports market and they will be supporting our ambitions to reach new audiences and sell out match days.”

Hannah Crouch, Associate Partner at Threepipe Reply, added, “We are delighted to be working with Rugby League and lending our sporting expertise to helping to drive a record year for attendance across Rugby League, with the Ashes series later this year a fantastic opportunity to leverage the growth of the sport more widely across the UK”.

The British & Irish Lions have announced that the 2025 squad announcement will take place at indigo at The O2 in London.

For the first time in its history, the squad reveal will be in front of thousands of fans on Thursday 8^th May, with the show broadcast live across Sky Sports.

Ieuan Evans MBE, Lions Chair, will unveil Head Coach Andy Farrell’s tourists and captain for the Qatar Airways Lions Men’s Series, Australia 2025.

Jonny Fordham, Head of Communications, The British & Irish Lions, said, “The British & Irish Lions is thrilled to announce that for the first time in its history the 2025 playing squad will be revealed in front of thousands of fans from indigo at The O2 in London.”

Sports marketing and management agency Blueprintx has entered an exclusive representation agreement with Prosport, the leading sports representation agency in Greece.

The deal will see Blueprintx represent the commercial and brand interests of Prosport’s talent roster.

The partnership, which includes Liverpool FC and Greece international Kostantinos Tsimikas, Vfl Wolfsburg centre-back Konstantinos Koulierakis and Como striker Anastasios Douvikas, will see Blueprintx drive commercial partnership growth for the Greek national talent roster.