Tennis world number one, Novak Djokovic, said last month that he had spoken to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal about a relief fund that would see the money distributed to lower-ranked tennis players.
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In support of this, it was announced on Tuesday that the Tennis governing bodies came together to raise more than $6 million. This initiative has seen the ATP, WTA, The Four Grand Slam Tournaments which includes The Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, The US Open and The Championships and ITF unite in a show of support to players who are facing unprecedented challenges due to the global impact of Covid-19.
In addition to the contributions of their own, the ATP and WTA will administer the financial distributions of the player relief programme, which sees respective contributions from the four grand slam tournaments and ITF split equally among the male and female tennis players.
Collectively, the player relief programme will target a total of approximately 800 ATP/WTA singles and doubles players in need of financial support. According to criteria agreed by all stakeholders, eligibility for the player relief programme will take into account a player’s ranking as well as previous prize money earnings
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The creation of the player relief programme is a positive demonstration of the sport’s ability to come together during a time of crisis. We will continue to collaborate and monitor the support required across Tennis, with the aim of ensuring the long term health of the sport in the midst of this unprecedented challenge to our way of life. Our thoughts remain with all those affected at this time.
Professional Tennis is currently suspended until July 13, 2020.
The article was written by Walter Ifeakanwa
