Gilles Simon: I had a feeling ATP didn't represent and protect players

French tennis star Gilles Simon, 35, says he has never really had a feeling that players were well protected and represented by the ATP. 

Tennis is facing one of the most challenging times in its history as a big number of events have been cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak and players have been left without a way to earn money. 

The Tour has been suspended since March 12 and the suspension will run until at least July 13. 

Ever since the Tour got suspended, players have been urging the governing bodies of tennis to help lower-ranked players because the majority of them can't go a month without a check -- let alone several months. 

"There have already been a lot of canceled tournaments. These are questions that arise in everyday life with companies that have suffered. There are tournaments for which it will be difficult, players for whom it is very difficult, others for whom it will go well and they will survive," Simon told the French Tennis Federation (FFT), as revealed on We Love Tennis France.

"This is where we see that this is something that I have always denounced and I left the ATP Player Council after that because the feeling I had is that ATP did not protect and did not represent absolutely the players. We see today when we have a crisis, a tennis player what does he do?"

Simon, ranked at No. 54 in the world, is a 14-time ATP champion and former world No. 6.

Simon's best result of this season came in Marseille, where he made the semifinal.

The Frenchman's Marseille run was ended by eventual runner-up Felix Auger-Aliassime.

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