Tennis players earn too much, claims Italian legend
Italian tennis legend Nicola Pietrangeli backed Turin to host the ATP Finals from 2021 to 2025. The city is on the shortlist to host the ATP Finals along with Singapore, Tokyo, Manchester and London Speaking to Tuttosport, Pietrangeli said: "Turin is excited to possibly host the event including the Mayor, who is fighting in a passionate way as a fighter. And the (Italian Tennis) Federation and the Italian Olympic committee have no doubts either. (Political parties) have doubts, in terms of money. (But) if, like I hear, the prize money will be increased to $12 million from the current $8.5 million, it's ridiculous to speak just about how much tennis players earn. Are they (earning) too much? I do agree... But here you have to think about the worth of the tournament for who holds it and for the companies that are participating in it. London's numbers are well-known and the earnings from the tournament are impressive. Maybe if it were football, they would have behaved differently. But the whole sport is a big resource for our country. You have to put doubts and fears away. Our politics is obsessed by the fear of making mistakes, but I am afraid that this fear is just the biggest mistake you can do."
Pietrangeli, the Italian tennis ambassador, also explained the reasons why Turin should host the year-end tournament: "ATP likes it a lot, they understood the importance and the meaning of it. On these pages there is a city that loves the sport, a great arena that can make you have success in the future. The winter Olympics were hosted in a great (manner). And after hosting the tournament for ten years, I think London will struggle even if it were the best proposal. If they say no to London, Manchester will not be chosen either. Tokyo is going to host the next Olympics, Singapore already hosted the WTA Finals. And Turin would be great because there a lot of European players competing. At last year's ATP Finals there were five players coming from Europe, in 2017 seven. Players stay in their country and they are happy."
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2SCeslV
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