How the 2009 ATP World Tour reshaped professional tennis and its record books
In short: The 2009 season marked a radical rebranding of professional tennis, introducing the Masters 1000, 500, and 250 tournament tiers. Amidst these structural changes, Roger Federer shattered the all-time Grand Slam record, while a new generation of players began to challenge the long-standing dominance of the sport's greatest rivals.
The 2009 season saw the Association of Tennis Professionals undergo a significant transformation, rebranding as the ATP World Tour. This shift introduced a new hierarchy of tournament classifications: the Masters 1000, the 500 series, and the 250 series. The reorganization aimed to streamline the calendar, replacing the former Tennis Masters Series and International Series events. This transition was not without friction; the ATP faced legal challenges from organizers in Hamburg and Monte Carlo over the status of their events. Ultimately, Monte Carlo retained its Masters 1000 status but lost its compulsory participation requirement for top players, while Hamburg was relegated to the 500 level.
On the court, the season was defined by Roger Federer’s historic pursuit of Pete Sampras’s record of 14 Grand Slam singles titles. After a heartbreaking five-set loss to Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open final—a match often cited as one of the greatest in history—Federer rebounded to win his first French Open. This victory allowed him to complete a career Grand Slam and equal Sampras’s record. He subsequently surpassed it at Wimbledon, defeating Andy Roddick in the longest men’s singles major final by games played. By winning both tournaments back-to-back, Federer achieved the rare 'channel slam' and finished the year as the world number one.
The year also signaled a shift in the sport's power dynamics. While Federer and Nadal had dominated the previous five seasons, winning 17 of 18 majors, 20-year-old Juan Martín del Potro broke this stranglehold by defeating both men back-to-back to win the US Open. Meanwhile, Nikolay Davydenko claimed the inaugural ATP World Tour Finals held in London, a venue that would host the event until 2020. Additionally, the ATP integrated Davis Cup performance into its ranking system for the first time, awarding points for live rubber wins and offering performance bonuses to players who excelled throughout the competition.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: 2009 ATP World Tour
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