Tunis (AFP)
Algerian leaders have promised to come to the aid of tennis player Inès Ibbou who criticized the world’s No. 3, Austrian Dominic Thiem, for refusing to contribute to a future support fund aimed at helping the poor classified, denied tournaments due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"Dear Dominic ... You know, in a country like mine, it is not easy for a woman to be a top athlete," wrote Ibbou, 21, in an open letter video to Thiem relayed this weekend on social networks.
The young sportswoman, of modest origin, highlights in particular the difficulties of evolving in a "country without pro tournament", without "a single coach in the international circuit, without" sponsor "or other financial support.
The Algerian Minister of Youth and Sports, Sid Ali Khaldi, then called Ines Ibbou, confined to Tunisia, on the phone, he reacted on his Facebook page on Monday, "to tell him all the will of the State to accompany him and all elite athletes and support them in order to achieve their aspirations and ambitions to showcase themselves at international sporting events and honor the national emblem ".
Sunday, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune tweeted "Algeria cannot afford to lose a sports talent like Inès Ibbou who is young and who has a whole career ahead of her in a specialty where few Algerians excel", and addressed everything his "support" and his "wishes of success" to Inès Ibbou.
The young Algerian successfully entered the WTA women's world circuit at the age of 14, despite the lack of infrastructure and trainers from which the sport suffers in the country.
But, a former 23rd world junior, Inès Ibbou is now relegated to 620th place worldwide in the WTA ranking.
Finalist of the last Australian Open, Dominic Thiem disassociated himself from the creation of a support fund to help the players most in difficulty (Player Relief Fund), weakened by the cessation of competitions caused by the Covid-19 .
"Many players do not put sport above everything and do not live professionally. I do not really see why I should give money to such players. I prefer to give money to people or to organizations that really need it, "he said in late April in an interview with the Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung published on Sunday.
According to the trade press, Djokovic, as president of the ATP Players' Council, which also includes Federer and Nadal, recently proposed in a message to players that the members of the top 100 in singles, and those of the top 20 in duplicate, contribute to this fund, according to their classification (from 30,000 dollars for the top 5 to 5,000 dollars for players between 51st and 100th place).
© 2020 AFP