It is thought the ATP Council, led by it’s president and the world #1 Novak Djokovic, are proposing a plan to assist lower-ranked players whilst professional tennis is suspended. Their intention is to collect donations from players ranked inside the top 100. It is proposed that those ranked between 100th and 50th will contribute $5,000, for players ranked from 50th to 20th to give $10,000 and top 20 players to give $15,000, whilst top ten players donate $20,000 and the top five $30,000. It has also been suggested that top 20 doubles players could contribute $5,000.
It is hoped that this will raise around $1 million for players ranked outside the top 100, who are facing significant financial difficulties with no means to earn prize money. This donation by the players is intended to buttress the efforts of the ATP and the Grand Slams, with the ATP Council hopeful that these bodies will also make a significant financial contribution of around $500,000. If that were the case, it would see a total of around $4.5-5 million dollars raised for lower-ranked players.
Protecting the interests of lower-ranked players has become an increasingly important issue to the professional ranks, with various increases in prize money, notably for first-round losers at the Slams, intended to make tennis a more equitable game. That said, the majority of prize money continues to go to the best players in the world and the reforms introduced by the ITF in 2019 proved both widely unpopular and ultimately disastrous.
But the proposal put forward by the ATP Council does indicate that the world’s best are well aware that they will be needed to shoulder significant responsibility during the pandemic. Djokovic, as well as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, are believed to have played a leading role in formulating the ATP Council’s proposal and all three have also made significant financial donations to various charities and hospitals fighting the pandemic across the world.
And their latest efforts should go some way to protecting the careers of players ranked outside the top 100. Although the focus of the tennis world is typically on the ATP Tour and the Grand Slams, players competing on the Futures and Challenger Tours provide an essential proving ground for players on their path up the ranks, without which the professional game could not function. Fortunately, this vital role has been recognised by their peers.
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