Tennis Europe release statement that urges ATP to make a move
Besides the usual excitement that every new tennis season brings, 2019 kicked off with two separate rankings on the professional level, one for ATP and WTA as ever since the 70s and one reserved for the lower-ranked ITF events. The second one has gathered all the players who couldn't make their way towards the place in the top-200 or top-300 once we had the one-ranking system in the past and it caused a lot of troubles among the majority of tennis players who have lost the place on the regular ATP and WTA lists. Unfortunately, that wasn't all, as they struggled to find the spot in the main draws of the lower-ranked ITF events, especially on the $25,000 level that still offers a few ATP and WTA points if you reach the latter stages.
Some other problems harm the progress of those lower-ranked players as well despite all the promises from the ITF that kept repeating they have covered all the aspects of the new system although that has not been the case, leaving hundreds of competitors in no man's land, worried about their future dearly. There are more and more stories about ATP points being implemented on the ITF M15 and M25 events again and even the most significant regional association of the sport's governing body, Tennis Europe, has sent a clear message that urges ATP to work on that in the upcoming months.
Tennis Europe’s 45th Annual General Meeting is taking place this weekend in Valletta, Malta and the main issues are ITF World Tennis Tour Tournaments, the changed format of Davis Cup and Live Scoring on the ITF pro events. The most prominent ITF regional organization is fully aware of the failure that this new system brings and they encourage ATP to make a move and give points on the ITF events again, just like before 2019, giving the hard-working players a chance to fight for the ATP points before reaching the Challenger level. Over the last couple of weeks, there was an argument between ATP and ITF about who took away the ATP points from the entry-level events at first place and it should be interesting to follow the news and the reaction from the ATP.
"The Tennis Europe member nations present at its Annual General Meeting in Malta were unanimous in the view that the current pathway between the ITF World Tennis Tour and the ATP Tour ranking system is failing the players and federations that we exist to support. We urge the ATP to consider the immediate reinstatement of ranking points for lower level tournaments. Europe has more events – and more players – than any other region, and we strongly believe that players competing in entry-level tournaments should be fairly rewarded for their efforts. The current situation leaves a significant number of players disenfranchised and demotivated, to the detriment of our sport. We therefore strongly encourage the ATP Tour to reach an agreement with the ITF that ensures national federations can continue to focus on the tasks of developing the sport, and on providing a coherent pathway for players wishing to transition to the professional circuit."
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2CJYZGA
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