ATP to Remunerate Tennis Players Without Financial Security Amid Coronavirus Crisis

Published 04/17/2020, 5:52 PM EDT

The coronavirus pandemic has made the livelihood of thousands across the globe difficult. People are losing their jobs and finding it difficult to make ends meet. In the tennis world, the fatal virus has caused temporary unemployment amongst the players. The lowered-ranked professionals, for whom tournament’s prize money is their only source of income are struggling to pay their bills.

ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi addressed the matter of global crisis and spoke about issuing salaries to players without any financial support during these dire times.

“Nobody could foresee what is happening now. The dynamics are complicated and the uncertainty is still there. But the spirit of cooperation among the governing bodies has been awesome the last few weeks,” ATP chairman Gaudenzi to Tennis Channel.

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“It’s difficult to have an exact date to return, the challenges for tennis are much higher than the other sports. We are going to try to step in and provide support to the players who don’t have the means to go on financially during these very difficult times.”

“Something needs to be done now for the players. We will deal with the tournaments a little bit later when we have a clear idea on the calendar,” he added.

ATP Chairman Unveils New Schedule For The ATP Tour

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The top-ranked players have alternative sponsorship deals, endorsements and they have other business ventures which take care of livelihood. Whereas the lowered ranked ones solely depend on the prize money obtained from ATP tournaments. The amount also pays for their on tour expenses.

Tennis tour resumption

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As of now, the tennis tour has been suspended until mid-July. Probably the suspension period might be extended depending on global conditions.

Being unpaid for more than four months is one of the most difficult times which an individual can ever undergo. After considering the basic needs and expenses of a tennis professional, ATP must suitably compensate them during the times worse than The Great Depression in the 1930s.

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Mahalakshmi Murali joined EssentiallySports in 2018 as a tennis author and has gone on to pen more than 1800 engaging articles, probing into various aspects of the sport and its illustrious players. With her expertise on the sport, Mahalakshmi has interviewed stalwarts from the sport such as Serena WIlliams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou and Kevin Anderson’s physio, Carlos Costa. Equipped with her vast experience and a keen understanding of the sport, Mahalakshmi now co-heads the tennis department.

ATP to Remunerate Tennis Players Without Financial Security Amid Coronavirus Crisis

Tennis tour resumption

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