ITF announces financial help for lower-ranked professionals

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) will financially help lower-ranked players (men and women), Indian news agency Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.

According to the report, singles players ranked between 500-700 and doubles players ranked 175-300 will receive the monetary assistance. An ITF personnel reportedly told PTI, “ITF is going to help players, who are ranked between 500 and 700 in the singles category both men and women. They are also going to help doubles players ranked between 175-300. They will get some funds though it is not going to be substantial amount.”

With respect to the amount itself, it is expected to be around $2,000. In addition, it will be the national tennis associations and federations that will receive this help. These federations and associations will, in turn, disburse it to their players. In addition, players eligible for such help also need to have played competitively in the last 10 months.

“It’s a nominal amount, which is less than USD 2000 (per player), will be given to the national federations and they will distribute to their eligible players,” the official said. “What the Grand Slam nations are planning is, they want to help players beyond 200 but this fund is meant for much-lower ranked players. It’s a one-time payment.”

What ITF Help Means for Indian Players

From India’s perspective, around 12 players – including both men and women – stand to receive such aid. Among the male singles players, these include: the 186th ranked Ramkumar Ramanathan, the 281st ranked Sasi Kumar Mukund, the 425th ranked Saketh Myneni, and the 438th ranked Sidharth Rawat. Among doubles players, these include: the 199th ranked Vishnu Vardhan, the 231st ranked Kadhe, and the 300th ranked N Vijay Sundar Prashanth. Myneni, who plays doubles, features in this list as well, ranked 180th in the world.

Among the women, singles players in the fray are the 613th ranked Sowjanya Bavisetti, the 650th ranked Zeel Desai, and the 664th ranked Pranjla Yadlapalli. Among women who play doubles, former world no. 1 Sania Mirza features in the list as she’s ranked 226th in the world alongside the 196th ranked Rutuja Bhosale.

The 606th ranked Karman Kaur Thandi does make the cut ranking-wise although her not having played in the recent months could see her lose out because of the ITF's stipulation. 

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2XIFgRe