Fewer trips on private jets for ATP tennis stars, suggests data from Carbon Tracker app | Tennis News

Over six and a half million kilometres travelled, and 1,722 tons of carbon dioxide emitted – these are simply two headline stats from the primary 12 months of the ATP Carbon Tracker.

Appears like an enormous hit, would not it? Like an ace from US Open semi-finalist Ben Shelton travelling at 149 miles per hour.

However wait a second… in reality, this new instrument is step one that any main tennis physique has taken to deal with its journey footprint, which is accountable for 85-90 per cent of its complete emissions.

It isn’t the completed article, it isn’t the answer to every thing, however it’s definitely a begin.

The Carbon Tracker is an interactive, player-only app which the ATP developed with its digital innovation associate Infosys.

“Journey is our precedence from a sustainability viewpoint. It additionally occurs to be essentially the most difficult factor to resolve, due to the character of who we’re – we run a worldwide tour,” says Mark Epps, who leads on sustainability for the ATP.

The app permits gamers to trace their event journey, perceive their emissions and offset them utilizing the Gold Commonplace, an internationally recognised and revered not-for-profit organisation that ensures that these carbon credit are actual and verifiable.

All gamers who offset 100 per cent of their journey obtain a Carbon Tracker Inexperienced Badge on their ATPTour.com profile web page, whereas the gamification component is available in by rating gamers in a leaderboard, they usually may also full training quizzes on the app to spice up their place.

“At a excessive stage, it speaks to the truth that we’re taking over the massive challenges, not shying away from it and innovating to attempt to discover options,” says Epps, talking reside on Sky Sports activities Information.

“However I believe essentially the most profound change that we have seen is that gamers have develop into way more assured in talking in regards to the subject, which is so essential.”

British No 1 Cameron Norrie, who filmed with Sky Sports activities as a part of the Enjoying for the Planet sequence final summer season, was third within the standings final 12 months.

“Journey is an unavoidable a part of what we do. However defending the atmosphere is one thing that is been actually essential to me for a very long time, and as gamers, we’re additionally aware of the duty now we have to take motion,” Norrie says.

Mackenzie McDonald, world No 49 from the USA, completed high of the standings in 2023, offsetting journey from all 32 tournaments he performed. McDonald joined within the interview with Epps, and conceded that whereas the app has began conversations, nonetheless extra can and must be accomplished.

“I would not say attitudes have considerably modified, however I believe the chance for studying has grown. From the gamers’ perspective, there are a variety of gamers, e.g. the fellows from Germany, Japan, Sweden, who’re very conscious of this,” he says.

Consciousness, training, motion – that is finally what drives mindset and behavior change. However already a few of the behaviour might shock you, drilling down into the stats.

Whereas the final impression could possibly be that a variety of gamers fly all over the world in top notch and by non-public jet, really the Carbon Tracker reveals that in 2023, for the 201 gamers who engaged with the app to log their journey, solely a mixed 1.4 per cent of the journeys made had been top notch or non-public, with 49 per cent of flights in financial system class and an encouraging 19.2 per cent of journeys made by automotive, prepare or bus.

Logging all that data has had a further profit for Donald, who, because the 2023 ATP Carbon Tracker winner, additionally receives $50,000 to donate to an initiative of his alternative.

“It will go to GreenAction primarily based within the Bay Space in Harbour Level, San Francisco,” he says. “For me, it hits near dwelling – they need to do an enormous environmental clear up there, and it is also a spot the place 40 years in the past, Arthur Ashe visited and helped open 4 tennis courts.”

So it is a respectable begin for the tracker, they’re into their rhythm, they’ve overwhelmed their first opponent. However lifting a Grand Slam title means profitable seven best-of-five-set matches back-to-back, and also you sense there could possibly be some marathon encounters forward.

It is a journey, as Epps says, and getting extra gamers concerned is the main target in 2024.

Past that, getting this out to the lots would supply the following vital problem, but additionally loads of motivation and fulfilment. “Final 12 months we broke a document on the Tour with greater than 5 million followers coming to our occasions. The alternatives that they make and the way they journey has a big impact,” says Epps.

“It is long term, however we need to take a look at how we are able to take what we have learnt with Carbon Tracker and apply that to one thing fan-facing, use the gamification components, make it participating – that is what actually excites me.”