ATP President and Chairman Chris Kermode believes men’s tennis is in a good place but says it’s imperative that the sport keeps trying to look for new ways to improve.

Speaking in an exclusive interview on all things tennis, Kermode said the game needs to evolve to stay aligned with shorter attention spans of modern-day fans but doesn’t think we’ll see the ‘best of three’ format replacing the ‘best of five’ in grand-slams for a ‘long time.’

“My view is that tennis is in the best place it’s ever been,” said Kermode, ATP boss since 2013. “But we need to try things now while we are in good shape so that we don’t panic in the future and make rash decisions when it’s too late.

“We have to give new things a go. Every sport is talking about shortening the product. However, that’s only partially the answer. If a sport is boring for eight hours and you shorten it to five minutes. It’s still boring.

“Ultimately, it’s about making the sport more exciting to watch and competitive, and keeping it relevant.

“Obviously, we (the ATP) don’t control the slams. But I don’t see best of three for a long time, if ever. 25 years down the line maybe. But certainly not in the next 10 years.”

The possible introduction of courtside coaching is another issue which has been extensively debated amongst the tennis world in recent times. Indeed, before this year’s US Open Roger Federer and Kim Clijsters led a backlash against plans to allow players to communicate with their coaches between points in New York.

Kermode, likewise, is not in favor of additional help for players on court, but the former British pro says he is keen to consider all options.

“It’s being looked at,” said Kermode. “I’m being open-minded but personally I don’t like it. I think the unique element about tennis is that it is one on one.

“Possibly, it could happen, from the sidelines, if we could control it in some way. But, in truth, I’m not a fan at all.”

With the average fan aged over 50, the game of tennis is certainly entering a period where it needs to be looking for innovation across the board.

One way the ATP is thinking ahead to the future is by expanding how it delivers coverage of its tournaments, particularly, as younger people move away from watching on television to viewing through online platforms like Amazon Prime, who streamed the Next Gen Finals earlier this month.

Clearly, Kermode recognizes there is a shift from traditional broadcasting and is eager to make sure the game doesn’t fall behind in appealing to its fans.

 “It’s an area we are looking at,” said the 53-year-old. “The way people are consuming entertainment products is changing ever so dramatically and destination TV is changing.

“I think we need to be looking ahead rather than sticking with the traditional channels. Obviously, it’s a bit of a risk as its only early days. But it’s definitely the way coverage is heading.”

After a remarkable year which has seen Federer and Rafael Nadal return to their best, and the likes of Alexander Zverev and Denis Shapovalov announce themselves on the world stage, you would be hard-pressed to find a season which has been as open as 2017.

Kermode believes, however, that next year will be even better with Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic coming back and is looking forward to seeing how the balance between young and old performs.

 “I think next year will be a bumper year for tennis,” added Kermode. “I believe we’ll see these younger guys breaking through like Zverev and Shapovalov.

“We’ll have that perfect mix of the old guard with the new guard snapping at their heels and that will create some really good storylines.”