Tennis rallies together for Player Relief Programme, raises $6 million
The governing bodies of tennis have come together to raise in excess of $6 million to create a Player Relief Programme aimed at supporting players who are particularly affected by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The ATP, WTA, four Grand Slam tournaments and the International Tennis Federation (ITF) had all joined forces to create the fund. Here's more.
Key information about the Player Relief Programme
According to the ATP Tour, in addition to contributions of their own, the ATP and WTA will administer the financial distributions of the Player Relief Programme. The programme sees respective contributions from the four Slam events and ITF split equally between men and women. Besides, it will target a total of approximately 800 ATP/WTA singles and doubles players collectively, in need of financial support.
Tennis boards come in and contribute for the fund
Eligibility for cash from the funds will be determined by ranking and previous prize money earnings of players, the ATP said. Meanwhile, each of the four Grand Slam events -- US Open, Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon, are believed to have chipped in $1 million each to the fund. The WTA and ATP Tours were also reported to have contributed $1 million each.
Additional contributions and opportunities in relation to the Programme
The move by the stakeholders provides the financial backbone of the Programme. There are opportunities for additional contributions to follow as well. Funds raised through initiatives such as auctions, player donations, virtual tennis games and more, will provide opportunity for further support of the Programme. Meanwhile, the fund is designed to benefit men's and women's players ranked outside of the top 200 in singles.
How has the COVID-19 impacted tennis?
The Wimbledon 2020 event was scrapped for the first time since World War II by tournament chiefs back in April. Prior to that, all professional ATP and WTA tennis events had been suspended. Earlier, the French Open was postponed until September. The ATP and WTA released a statement on the importance and responsibility to prioritize the health and safety of the tennis community.
