Tennis players in the bottom of the standings are facing a difficult situation, they have no income during this period, and officials think it is difficult to play tournaments this year.

“If we don’t play, we don’t make money. We just spend. It’s not an easy time. We don’t know what we’re going to do, “said Mihaela Buzărnescu on GSP Live earlier this month. It’s a tough reality that more and more tennis players are facing these days, especially as officials have suspended all tournaments until June 8. A period that could be extended, many tournament directors are awaiting today’s All England Club decision. It is hard to believe that the pre-Wimbledon competitions will be contested again, when all indications lead to his cancellation.

“WTA is not a financial institution”

The Reuters news agency has asked the WTA for a view on the financial problems its players face. “They are independent people, and not employees of the WTA. Thus, their salary is based on the results in the field, and when it is not maintained, it is clear that there is a cash flow problem. We would have liked to help everyone and there were compensations to the level they were expecting, but the WTA is not a financial institution. We are aware of the challenges that athletes face, but they are similar to those of millions of other people in the world, in this situation that has never been encountered before, “the WTA release said.

To compensate for this period, the officials who manage the women’s tennis have communicated that they work directly with the representatives of the tournaments so that when the circuit will resume the prizes to be higher, they are also considering an extension of this season. He was originally supposed to be 44 weeks old and was due to end on November 8 with the Shenzhen Champions Tournament.

Option to appeal to pensions

In the men’s circuit things are not even clearer. “We have not found anything yet, we have discussed with each other what to do, we would like, if possible, to take the money collected for the pension for 2019, to have money so we can survive, take care of ourselves and our families. So far nothing is known. It will be hard for us, if we don’t play all year long, it means that from March we will no longer receive any money and it will not be easy, “said Marius Copil

“It will be very difficult for us to return to sports”

In an interview for L’Equipe, Gerard Tsobanian, who is the “right hand” of Ion iaciriac and the president of the Madrid tournament, said that various tennis organizations communicate non-stop to determine what happens with the tournaments in this tournament. year.

“I’m worried about what’s next. Even if we resume the tournaments in a moment, there are many question marks. Players come from all over the world, as do the spectators. If we look into the future, we will be afraid to return to the stadiums. The true reality is that if a vaccine is not found, which will ensure that everything is under control, it will be very difficult to return to sports. “- Gerard Tsobanian

Season canceled?

Tsobanian also proposes an extreme solution: “I think we need to set a deadline from which to make the decision to declare all competitions this year canceled, delete this year from the calendar and take it to the end. We stop on December 31, 2019 and start from January 1, 2021, “said the Frenchman, who is part of the ATP European Bureau and the WTA tournament board of directors. It remains to be seen what the tennis world will look like after this break eliminated from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The move to the Madrid tournament is being studied

Before reaching the solution to cancel the entire tennis season, officials are studying different variants. Gerard Tsobanian (photo) revealed to L´Equipe that the Madrid tournament, although it was declared canceled, could reappear in the calendar between September 14 and 20, just before the rescheduled Roland Garros. “We cannot put a date, I think the French organizers were brave when they announced that their tour would take place at that time. However, we must also see that things are not predictable now, especially since the global situation is not progressing well, “said Tsobanian. He points out that if Wimbledon is canceled it will be a powerful message for the rest of the world: this sacred tournament is gone, it means nothing is safe. ”

Hard to believe

Craig Tiley, chief executive of the Australian Federation and director of the Melbourne Slam Tournament, said it would be difficult to play tennis this year. “Our sport is based on global travel and I think this segment will resume the hardest. We should focus on resuming sport at the national level for the time being, “he said. The official said that a scenario is already underway that implies that not even the Australian Open 2021 can be deployed.” We are preparing for what is more. bad and we hope it will be fine. We can wake up tomorrow and hear that the miracle drug has been discovered or that we are close to a vaccine, but reading all kinds of things you realize that these variants are still far away, “Tiley added. it will be difficult to travel from one country to another this year. When we can safely travel from one country to another, then professional tennis will return. ”