'Truly remarkable': Tennis legends take action over 'revolting' virus drama

Novak Djokovic has revealed he, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are organising aid for players struggling with the paralysis of the game due to the coronavirus pandemic.

While top players have been donating to relief efforts and posting cooking and workout videos online, lower level professionals are counting the cost of the tennis shutdown with some fearing they will be unable to put food on the table if it lasts much longer.

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Serena Williams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou recently said it exposes the ‘revolting’ divide between the top players and the rest.

Now Djokovic, Federer and Nadal are taking action.

“I spoke to Roger and Rafa a few days ago,” World No.1 Djokovic said in an Instagram chat with friend and rival Stan Wawrinka on Saturday.

“We had a long conversation about the near future of tennis, what is going to happen, how we can contribute and how we can help especially lower-ranked players, who are obviously struggling the most.

“The majority of the players who are ranked between 200, 250 in the world, and the 700th or 1000th do not have federation support, do not have sponsors. They are completely independent and left alone,” he said

“Guys who are ranked between 200-250, especially to 700...are thinking of leaving tennis right now.”

He said players, the ATP and the four Grand Slams “would all get together and will contribute to a player relief fund that ATP will distribute.”

“It looks, hopefully, that there will something between $3 million and $4.5 million (USD) that is going to be distributed,” he estimated.

Djokovic concerned for future of tennis

Djokovic said the cash could come from the prize money for the season-ending World Tour Finals or the final bonus pools for top players.

“Maybe if we don't have any tournaments this season, we can take a certain percentage from our prize money form Australian Open in January,” he said.

“These guys are the grass roots of tennis. The future of tennis. We need to show them they still can rely on support of the top guys.”

According to reports in tennis media, Djokovic as president of the ATP Players' Council, which also includes Federer and Nadal, proposed to members that players in the top 100 for singles and the top 20 in doubles contribute according to their rankings.

The proposed scale runs from $30,000 for a top-five player to $5000 for those between 51 and 100.

That would raise approximately $1 million and the ATP would make a similar contribution.

On Friday, ATP chief Andrea Gaudenzi echoed the call for unity on the tour website.

“Our guys are at home, obviously unable to play, unable to earn money and financially struggling, so we will try to help,” he said, adding that the ATP faced the problem of not knowing how long the crisis would last and how much revenue it would lose.

“I've been quite touched by the top players who reached out, the big names expressing their desire of helping the lower-ranked players and putting those players first.

“We are also talking with the Grand Slams about it. They may want to join in the effort. I think it would be a great message for the sport.”

World tennis has been at a standstill since the beginning of March and will not resume until mid-July at the earliest following the postponement of Roland Garros and the cancellation of Wimbledon.

Serena’s coach lashes ‘revolting’ state of tennis

Mouratoglou said the crisis had highlighted the ‘dysfunctional’ state of the game and changes need to be made sooner rather than later.

“Players ranked outside the top 100 are barely breaking even and most of them are forced to fund their careers to keep playing professionally. Their lives are a financial struggle,” the Frenchman wrote in an open letter posted to Twitter.

“Unlike basketball or football players, tennis players aren’t covered by fixed annual salaries. They’re independent contractors.

“They’re paying for their travels. They’re paying fixed salaries to their coaching staff, while their own salaries depend on the number of matches they win.

“I find it revolting that the 100th-best player of one of the most popular sports in the world – followed by an estimated one billion fans – is barely able to make a living out of it.”

Georgia's Sofia Shapatava, the world's 375th ranked women's singles player, has started a petition seeking assistance from the International Tennis Federation (ITF) for lower-level professionals.

“Not many will be able to support their everyday life and then come back to playing after three months without competition,” the 31-year-old said.

with AFP and AAP