“No, we are unfortunately not able to help all of our players who are the collateral victims of this coronavirus pandemic!”
President of Swiss Tennis, René Stammbach has the merit of openness. His federation will not fly to the aid of tennis winners.
Swiss Tennis cannot be transformed into a good Samaritan like the English and French federations which have freed up substantial resources – 24 and 37 million francs respectively – to help their clubs and their players. Thanks to the profits generated by Wimbledon and Roland-Garros, these two federations have a whole other margin of maneuver than Swiss Tennis.
Despite the noble gesture of the English and the French, tennis is going through the most terrible crisis in its history. The desperate efforts of the Italian Federation to save its Rome Internationals this year, even if it means having them contested in camera behind closed doors in Cagliari in November, and the French Federation’s forceful passage to postpone Roland-Garros in the fall clearly reflect the state of emergency in which this sport is struggling.
“If the situation persists, we will lose the revenue on licenses and on club registrations. I dare not imagine the consequences of a white season, sighs René Stammbach. However, we were able to continue paying the subsidies for players from frame A and B. “
Help will be long overdue
Confined in California, Conny Perrin, 255th in the world, cannot, at 29, benefit from subsidies from Swiss Tennis. The Neuchâteloise, however, received a message of support from the director of elite sport at Swiss Tennis Alessandro Greco. “I appreciated this gesture,” said Conny Perrin, who is perfectly aware that help, if there is help, will not come immediately. “All jurisdictions are striving to do their best,” she said. “I hope these discussions will bring about beneficial changes for all WTA, ATP and ITF circuits.”
For several days, voices have been heard for the idea of such aid to finally materialize. Friday, Novak Djokovic launched the idea of a solidarity fund that would see the top 100 in the ATP ranking help the next-come according to a progressive scale of $ 5,000 for players ranked between 50th and 100th place and 30,000 dollars for the top five in the ranking. Coach of Serena Williams and recognized consultant on television channels, Patrick Mouratoglou emphasizes, for his part, that “tennis cannot only live from its stars and that it is time to think of these players outside the top 100.” He advocates in particular for a minimum wage for all players whose level allows them to try their luck on the Circuit.
With 12 titles in singles and 21 in doubles on the ITF Circuit, there is no doubt that Conny Perrin is one of the players who could be entitled to such a salary. The Georgian Sofia Shapatava, 371st in the world, for her part launched an online petition asking the International Federation (ITF), the WTA and the ATP to provide financial support to players during this pandemic.
ITF releases in touch
Also treasurer of the ITF, René Stammbach recalls that the body has already suffered from the cancellation of the final phase of the Fed Cup in Budapest and that the smooth running of that of the Davis Cup in November in Madrid is not assured.
“The Davis Cup generates a third of ITF revenues,” he said. “If it is to materialize, this support for players must be provided by the WTA and ATP. The ITF contributes for its part, to the development of tennis within 210 national federations. ” And hearing René Stammbach is enough for his pain.
Swiss Tennis, however, plans to indirectly support a player like Conny Perrin. “Once we can replay tennis, we will try to organize several tournaments for the best players in the country,” said Alessandro Greco.
“It may be in front of the audience or behind closed doors. But I imagine that a player like Jil Teichmann, who is confined to Biel, will want to deliver matches before the Circuit resumes, but nothing says let him resume this year because of the universality of our sport. The speech also applies to Stan Wawrinka, “he continues.
It is now up to Swiss Tennis to explore this idea and, why not, find a sponsor to bring this project to life. “But in these pandemic times, the hunt for the sponsor will be very difficult, admits Alessandro Greco. Unless we find one who shows great courage.”
ats
–
