Speaking to Global Sports Week Paris from a live link in Milan, Gaudenzi - a former Davis Cup player for Italy who has a law degree, an MBA and extensive experience in the music data business - said the upside of the current pandemic was the way different parts of the game’s governance have pooled resources.

"I think there has been a positive angle because we have been able to work more closely with the other governing bodies - with the Women’s Tennis Association, the International Tennis Federation and the four Grand Slams.

"Touching a little bit on the strategic vision and the plan that I put forward to the Board, the players and the tournaments at the beginning of the year - it has clearly a focus on fans first.

"Fans are the people who buy our tickets, who watch tennis on TV or through the digital platforms, they are the target eyeballs for our sponsors, so they are definitely the main focus that we should be having.

"There are various pain-points that our fans have to go through, due to the fact that we are extremely fragmented.

"So it is different governing bodies like the WTA and the Grand Slams, we go to market in different years, in separate cycles to sell our rights, so we don’t centralise data in a common database.

"To a certain extent we have different rules.

"So a lot of the time is spent in conflicts between tournaments and players, and between the governing bodies.

"I think we should try to work united and try to form a unique governing body for the entire sport because we can definitely deliver a better experience to our fans - who love our sport.

"Our sport has a huge opportunity because we have a strong product - men and women - and it's quite unique.

"Other sports don’t have that.

"Our audience is split almost 50-50 between men and women, which is another unique selling point.

"And we are global - we have a lot of volumes in terms of matches, so we are sort of perfect for the new digital era and the new digital distribution, and we should take advantage of that.

"But that definitely requires us to put aside individual interests and start focusing for the overall good of the sport.

"Which will be a challenge, especially during COVID, when we have been distracted by crisis management, but we will still push forward in that direction."

Last April Gaudenzi said the idea of the ATP, the governing body for male players, working more closely with the WTA was "a no-brainer" and these comments go further down that line.

Gaudenzi’s comments were swiftly followed by a tweet from 20-times Grand Slam winner Roger Federer saying: "Just wondering - am I the only one thinking that now is the time for men’s and women’s tennis to be united and come together as one?

"I am picturing a merger between the WTA and ATP.

"I am not talking about merging competition on the court, but merging the two governing bodies (ATP and WTA) that oversee the men’s and women’s professional tours.

"It probably should have happened a long time ago, but maybe now is really the time.

"These are tough times in every sport and we can come out of this with two weakened bodies or one stronger body."