Tennis-CVC looking at $600 million investment in combined professional tour - report

FILE PHOTO: Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - June 6, 2021 General view of match balls in the hand of Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova during her fourth round match against Belarus' Victoria Azarenka REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File Photo

(Reuters) - Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners is considering a minority stake worth $600 million in a combined tennis entity born out of a possible merger of the men's and women's professional tours, Sky News reported on Monday.

The ATP, WTA, the four Grand Slams and the International Tennis Federation run different parts of the game and calls for a unified body for the sport have grown stronger after it was ravaged by the shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.