We thought they were playing with millions ... players seeking financial aid because of Corona

Paris AFB
Outside of the circle of male and female players who have collected tens of millions of dollars from the tournaments, many tennis players who are now immersed in trouble are struggling to provide an income in light of the interruption of the game due to the emerging Corona virus.

There are well-known names in the world of yellow football that collected tens of millions of financial awards during her career, including, but not limited to, Serbian Novak Djokovic, Spaniard Rafael Nadal, Swiss Roger Federer, American Serena Williams, Roman Simona Halep ... but in the game also hundreds of others They often get out of the early roles or their level does not allow them to compete for titles, and for that they get crumbs from the millions of financial prizes, especially for the Grand Slam tournaments.

And in the absence of any huge sponsorship contracts or adequate financial savings, these people find themselves in the wind right now, in light of the cessation of the sessions until at least the seventh of June because of "Covid-19".

This situation prompted the Georgian player Sofia Shabatava (31 years old, ranked 375 globally) to communicate directly with the International Tennis Federation, asking him to provide assistance to her and other names immersed in the game.
And the player warned that "players ranked below 250 globally will no longer be able to provide their daily strength in two or three weeks."

"Frankly, I don't think I will be able to do that," she told AFP.

In response to a question about Al-Ittihad's position, the player, who had been a professional for 16 years and had not won any title, explained, "They said they are currently busy and they will contact me again when this becomes possible."

"But after that email, I didn't receive anything."

The federation did not comment on a question to France Press regarding this appeal, but press reports indicate that the matter may be discussed in the coming period.

For his part, the head of the Professional Players Association "ITB" Andrea Godensi said in press statements that "our ability to take any supportive measures (for players) will be better directed once we know the duration of this crisis and when the tournaments can resume."

According to the Association of Professionals website, Shabatava collected about $ 355,000 during her career, knowing that she did not take a large number of professional courses, and participated in that lowest level organized by the International Federation.
But since the beginning of this year, the Georgian have only raised $ 3,304.

According to the estimates of websites specialized in tennis, this amount remains less (or sometimes equivalent to the minimum) than a player or player gets after the elimination from the first round of the 250-round tournament.
The classification of both professional and professional associations includes more than a thousand names. The lowest-ranked professional in Russia is Ksenia Kulansnikova (27, ranked 1283), and she only raised 68 dollars this year.
Many men and women outside the Top 100 club depend on other sources of income such as training or playing in club leagues. However, even these incomes are currently non-existent in light of the global restrictions imposed on the movement of travel and travel in the context of efforts to curb the spread of "Covid-19".

"Sports will die."

Chapatava launched an electronic petition "to help tennis players communicate their voice to the International Federation, after speaking to many of them to know what their plans are for the next three months, and I came to the conclusion that some of them will no longer be able to provide food."
"My problem is that sport will die (...) because players who are ranked below the 150th position will no longer be able to play," she added.

As of Sunday noon, the number of my petition had exceeded 1,000.

The suspension of the competitions caused the cancellation of the entire season, except for the French Open that was postponed from May to September.

In light of the current uncertainty about developments in the health situation globally and any clear date for the possibility of resuming the matches, it seems that the grass courses may meet the same fate, most notably the English championship, Wimbledon, the three major slam tournaments, scheduled between June 29 and July 12.

Another player who expressed her fear of the current financial conditions is the British world number 233 Tara Moore, who raised only $ 2,500 this year.

Throughout her career, the 27-year-old has made a total of $ 437,500 thanks to her participation in Grand Slam tournaments. For example, in 2016, Moore earned $ 62,000 to reach the second round in Wimbledon.
"There are more important things like life and death, but many players, especially from small countries, cannot get any income or claim any compensation (from the authorities) because they are considered to be workers in free fields," the player wrote, commenting on the electronic petition launched by the Georgian.

She warned that many of them would not be able to withstand "for a few months to come."

And many players, especially the young ones, have previously criticized the method of distributing financial prizes in the tournaments, especially the major tournaments, in terms of the vast difference between those assigned to those who reach the final match, and those obtained by those who left the previous rounds. Some organizers intend to increase the total prizes, provided that the increase rate is higher for the first rounds.

But players who previously raised sums of money, expressed sympathy for the complaint, including Russian Ala Kudryavtseva (32 years), who collected about three million dollars in her career.

"I have savings, I'm not worried. But what about the young players who chose tennis as their march and are gradually becoming professional? Those who have not yet had any chance to save money? Who paid perhaps from their own pocket?" She said.