Silver linings playbook

The GIST: Something good has to come out of this awful pandemic, and tennis legend Roger Federer has the perfect idea: merge two professional tennis associations to make one supreme powerhouse.

Sweet. What’s the current setup?: Professional tennis currently has two governing bodies: the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for the men and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) for the women. These two organizations run pretty differently, with different ranking systems, regulations, schedules and, of course, revenue (we’ll let you guess who makes more…).

So what does Federer propose?: One governing body to oversee all professional competition. In a series of tweets, Federer explained that merging the two organizations would help fans better follow and understand pro tennis.

• By merging, men’s and women’s tennis would follow the same schedule and ranking systems, and would allow for a more balanced marketing and media presence for each. For a sport that’s already leading the way in gender equality, this sounds like a no-brainer.

Could this actually happen?: We certainly hope so. Federer has apparently already spoken to his best friend/rival Rafael Nadal about this, and their idea quickly gained backing from fellow players Garbiñe Muguruza, Simona Halep and the legend herself, Billie Jean King (who’s been calling for this since forever).

• Not only are Federer and Nadal two of the greatest players of all time, but they’re also members of the ATP Players Council and have very powerful voices in the tennis world. If anyone can make it happen, it’s these two...and probably Serena Williams.