At 10:16 am Justin Gimelstob has officially resigned his ATP Board of Directors position. There will be an election in two weeks for his replacement which could be Tim Mayotte or Brad Gilbert, both former ATP top ten players.
Gimelstob pled no contest to charges of a violent assault on the friend of his estranged wife Randy Kaplan on Halloween last year in Los Angeles, a fifty punch assault in front of Kaplan’s wife and child. Mrs. Kaplan was pregnant at the time and possibly lost the baby due to the stress of the attack.
Here is the statement Gimelstob released on Facebook…
I am resigning effective immediately from the ATP Board of Directors.
It has been an honor and a privilege to hold this position for the past 11 years. My job was to best represent the players, the ATP, and be a custodian of the sport. My choices and actions last Halloween night prohibit me from doing that at this time. My role is designed to work on behalf of the players and the sport and it is clear that I have now become a significant burden and distraction to both. That is not something that could or should continue. I’m heartbroken to walk away from something I love so much, but given the current climate I do not deserve to be in this position of influence.
For the better part of my life, tennis has been much more than my occupation, it has been my passion. I love the sport. It has given me so much personally and professionally, for which I am very grateful. Along the way I have had some successes and failures, and undoubtedly have made my share of mistakes. I sincerely hope that I can and will be judged by my complete body of work throughout my career on and off the court; my passion, my energy, and my tireless work on behalf of my constituents and the game.
Giving up or conceding is not in my DNA, but it has become clear that I need to take a step back – for the good of the players, the game and for myself. Solely for that reason, I now more than ever appreciate that people in elected positions of influence must be held to the highest standard of conduct. I breached that standard on a night last October. I have always taken responsibility for my role in the events that evening and will continue to do so. While I can, have, and will continue to dispute the way that evening has been depicted, the material matter is that my judgment that evening compromised the sport and the people that entrusted me with the authority to represent them. I am deeply saddened and remorseful that my actions have caused the sport, players, my colleagues, friends and family such a distraction. Actions have consequences and me stepping away from a role I cherished is one of them that I accept.
It has been an honor to represent the players, who I believe are the greatest athletes in the world. Thank you to the current Player Council and all the Player Council members throughout my 11 years as an ATP Board Member that have selflessly given their time to improve the sport. I want to thank all of my fellow Board Members – it has been a pleasure working with you all. I want to thank our incredible ATP staff and team, the ATP Tournaments and the entire tennis family for letting me be part of your inner circle.
I also want to acknowledge and thank my critics. I appreciate that in choosing this profession; whether on the court, in the television booth, or in the boardroom, critique and scrutiny come with the platform you are given. I respect your profession, your opinions, and appreciate your desire to hold everyone accountable to a standard that matches the access and opportunity we are given as stewards of the sport.
I hope that I have the opportunity in the future to contribute to the sport that I love and believe I can be an asset to once again. However I also appreciate that opportunity needs to be earned. I am committed to working on myself, dealing with the challenges in my personal life, and better equipping myself with the tools to handle the pain of losing my father and the ongoing litigation for equal custody of the most important thing in my life, my son.
Last night while processing all of this I fortunately was able to spend some time with someone I respect greatly. He comforted me with the belief that from periods of pain and suffering arise a great opportunity for personal growth. We reflected on “failure” and how failure is not something to fear but rather to embrace and from which to learn. Specifically the theory of âfalling forward.â I sincerely hope to be able to do exactly that, learn from my mistakes and become the best version of myself, not just for me but more importantly for my son.
Sincerely, Justin Gimelstob
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« Previous 1 2Dan Markowitz · May 5, 2019 at 4:55 pm
I agree I don’t Felix has passed Shapo. In Miami, Shapo beat Tstisipsas. That’s better than FAA losing to Izzie, especially when he was serving for first set and double-faulted three times in one game. I’d still take Shapo over Felix on hard courts and I like his game a lot better than Felix’s who’s more of Djokovic-like player while Shapo is more like Fed.
Scoop Malinowski · May 5, 2019 at 5:19 pm
Shap beat Tsitsipas 76 in third while Felix routed Tsitsipas 6264 a week eaier in iw, another clue Felix is better.
Hartt · May 5, 2019 at 6:15 pm
I don’t think FAA is a Djokovic-type player. he can make defensive plays, but his natural bent is to be aggressive. With more experience he will improve as a player, and I think he will have a very successful season.
But I am a little concerned about expectations that he will be a top player right away. He is just 18, and is still developing.
Hartt · May 5, 2019 at 6:27 pm
Interestingly, Tsitsipas has never won against FAA. In addition to the IW match that Scoop mentioned, FĂ©lix beat Stefanos 3 times in juniors. So twice in 2015 – in the Canadian Open Jr. Championship,and Eddie Herr, and in the SF at the 2016 USO juniors, which FAA went on to win. FĂ©lix is exactly 2 years younger than Stefanos – both have their birthdays during the Rogers Cup – so this is impressive.
Scoop Malinowski · May 5, 2019 at 7:46 pm
Yes Hartt I see Felix as the one to be the future king, more successful than Tsitsipas or Shap who can also be no. 1 and win majors. Felix has established slight, minute superiority which I believe will only increase with time barring some road bumps along the way.
Hartt · May 5, 2019 at 10:11 pm
Scoop, in terms of future success, I agree that FĂ©lix will be the main guy, although players like Stefanos and Denis will be successful as well. This is barring injury, of course.
Gill Gross, who has Monday Match Analysis, is a huge FAA fan, and the thing he emphasizes is, like the great players, FĂ©lix is very good at both defense and offense. Gross thinks that most players, even very good ones, are much better at one aspect or the other.
Scoop Malinowski · May 5, 2019 at 10:27 pm
Hartt, jimmy arias said he talked to hitting partner who hit with all the next genners and he said Felix hit the heaviest ball.