Andrea Gaudenzi: Tennis Bodies are Close to Finalizing Player Relief Fund

ATP CEO and Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi said that the various tennis governing bodies were close to finalizing a deal for the Players Relief Fund, according to a report in the Financial Times.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Gaudenzi, says that the relief fund could be tapped by up to 400 players and would include the ATP, WTA, ITF and four Grand Slam bodies.

Gaudenzi also added that the ATP is looking at redistributing prize money at its events.

The tennis tour has been shutdown since March due to the global health crisis.

All tournaments have been suspended till July 12th as of now with several tournaments, including the Wimbledon Championships, being cancelled for the season.

The ATP has said it will take a decision by June 1st about the tour events that are due to be held after 12th July..

Many players have said that they are not confident that the tour would be able to be resumed in 2020 due to the global nature of the sport and the travel required.

During this time, the lower ranked players on the tour have spoken about the struggles of surviving without prize money and there have been several calls for the governing bodies to support the players with a relief package.

The WTA CEO Steve Simon has said that the WTA has already distributed around $3 million to the players though they did not give any details on how the same was distributed.

Several players, including Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Simona Halep, and Petra Kvitova, have also called for the ATP Tour & the WTA Tour to merge so that tennis can emerge stronger as a sport after the crisis.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3dedVN5