Marco Trungelliti Blasts Tennis Authorities Over Management Of COVID-19 Crisis - UBITENNIS
Connect with us

Latest news

Marco Trungelliti Blasts Tennis Authorities Over Management Of COVID-19 Crisis

Trungelliti, who is best known for being a whistleblower in a big match-fixing scandal, has said there is ‘a lot of anger among players’ over a lack of support.

Published

4 years ago

on

Argentina’s Marco Trungelliti has accused the tennis governing bodies of ‘poor’ management over their handling of their Tour suspension.

 

All professional events have been halted since March due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic that has inflicted more than two million people and killed thousands. It is unclear as to when the sport could resume again with the current return date of July 13th expected to be extended at some point. Amid the uncertainty, lower ranked players have voiced their concerns about receiving financial support during the break. Prompting the upcoming launch of a Player Relief Program, which will be administered by both the ATP and WTA. Full details about the program are yet to be released and it remains unclear as to when the funds will start being distributed to the players.

Trungelliti would be one of those who would benefit from such an initiative. He is currently ranked 231st in the world and has made just over $67,000 in prize money this year (before costs). The 30-year-old has blasted officials over the current system and criticised them for showing a lack of support to others working in the sport who aren’t players.

“The only bad thing is that there are many people who make a living from this sport and not just players that we have stopped producing. All the work team behind it stops charging.” He told the EFE news agency.
“The tennis bodies are painful and the only way they handle the situation is to say that it is poor. The whole system is quite loose and they don’t take into account the trainers, the physical trainers,” he added.

Continuing his criticism, Trungelliti has called out the bodies for what he believes have been a lack of communication. Saying that those who aren’t top names of the sport are often brushed aside and ignored.

“Each time you go down the ranking it is worse, it is evident, but the one who is 120 in the world has trouble reaching the end of the month. It is a reality.” He said.
“At the moment, there is a lot of anger between players and coaches. More than anything, people are angry at the lack of support. In tennis there is no information and you do not belong to anything. Neither financial or mental aid.”
“The lack of communication is terrifying.”

The ATP

Recently ATP Players Council President and world No.1 Novak Djokovic issued a letter to his fellow players urging them to contribute towards a fund set up to support those ranked below them. Although not everybody is on board. Dominic Thiem already publicly voiced his opposition by saying he would like to pick who to donate to. The Austrian, who played on the lower-level Future Tour for two years, believes some players are ‘unprofessional’ and don’t commit fully to the sport.

Thiem’s comments inevitably triggered both support and backlash with Leyton Hewitt lending his backing. However, Trungelliti has branded the comments from the Australian Open runner-up as ‘ugly.’

“In the end, everyone does what they see fit with the money, but to say that tennis doesn’t deserve it when there are kids who work like animals to get to where he was or where he is pretty ugly for a tennis player to say that kind of thing.” He said of Thiem.

Whilst the sport awaits the final details about the Player Relief Fund, Trungelliti has questioned why the bosses of the ATP haven’t taken a pay cut due to the current crises. The head of the International Tennis Federation, David Haggerty, took a 30% reduction in his pay as part of what is described as a ‘job protection scheme.’

“In general, society is already quite irresponsible. It seems to me that this is a message for leaders with the amount of money they have stolen in the world. And if we go back to the subject of tennis, in the ATP those who command have not even cut their salaries when they too have stopped working like the tennis players themselves.” Trungelliti replied when asked if COVID-19 would change the world for the good.
“The first who have to set an example are those who command, the leaders and in many countries that is not happening. People are pissed off because this becomes a matter of survival. Hopefully it will help us to think differently. In the end everything ends up being paid by the middle and lower classes.”

Trungelliti is currently residing in Andorra. He last played a professional match during the final week of February.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Latest news

Luca Nardi beats Flavio Cobolli but it’s not enough to advance to the semifinals at the Next Gen Finals

Published

6 mins ago

on

30/11/2023

By

World number 115 Luca Nardi overcame Flavio Cobolli in an Italian match 3-4 (4-7) 4-2 4-3 (7-1) 1-4 4-3 (7-3) in 2 hours and 14 minutes in the final round robin match of Green Group at the Next Gen Finals at King Abdullah Sports Club in Jeddah. 

 

The win was not enough to earn a semifinal spot for Nardi. Arthur Fils is the first player to qualify for the knock-out stage. The top seeded Frenchman will face Dominic Stricker later today. Stricker needs to win just one set to reach the semifinals. 

Both players went on serve in the first set en route to the tie-break. Cobolli earned two mini-breaks to win the tie-break 7-4. 

Nardi saved two break points in the third game of the second set to take a 2-1 lead. The world number 115 broke serve in the sixth game to close out the second set 4-2. 

Cobolli converted his second break point in the first game of the third set. Nardi pulled back on serve in the sixth game to draw level to 3-3. Nardi opened up a 3-0 lead with two mini-breaks. Cobolli pulled one of the two mini-breaks back for 1-3. Nardi won the final four points with two mini-breaks to claim the tie-break 7-1. 

Nardi clutched his groin when he was serving at 0-1 in the fourth set and called a medical time-out at 0-3. Cobolli earned a break in the second game to close out the fourth set 4-1. 

Cobolli saved two break points to hold serve in the second game. Nardi fended off two break points in the fifth game. Both players held on serve en route to the tie-break. Nardi earned his first mini-break with a backhand flick from out wide to take a 2-1 lead. Cobolli pulled the mini-break back to draw level to 2-2. Nardi closed out the match with a return down the line winner.   

Nardi hit 27 winners to 12 unforced errors. 

“I am happy with the win. Even if I did not qualify, I think today was the best match I played out of the three. I am a bit sad I did not qualify, but I did not want to leave Jeddah without a win. I kept fighting today and I am happy”, said Nardi. 

Continue Reading

Latest news

Hamad Medjedovic moves to 2-0 in Red Group at the Next Gen Finals in Jeddah

Published

17 hours ago

on

29/11/2023

By

Hamad Medjedovic edged past Luca Van Assche 4-2 2-4 4-3 (9-7) 4-1 to move to 2-0 In Red Group at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah one day after winning a marathon five-set match against Alex Michelsen. 

 

Medjedovic broke serve in the third game of the opening set to take a 2-1 lead. He held serve and saved two break points in the sixth game to close out the first set 4-2. 

Van Assche saved three break points at 2-2 before breaking serve in the sixth game  with a running forehand pass to seal the second set 4-2. 

Medjedovic earned a break point in the first game of the third set, when Van Assche made a double fault. Van Assche saved them to hold on his serve. Both players held on serve en route to a tie-break. Van Assche raced out to a 5-1 lead. Medjedovic won three consecutive points to claw his way back to 4-5. Van Assche earned three set points at 6-4, 6-5 and 7-6, but Medjedovic won the final three points to win the tie-break 9-7. 

Medjedovic left the court for nine minutes for a bathroom break. 

Medjedovic broke serve in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead. When he was serving out the match, he saved three break points as he closed out the win with two unreturned serves. 

“For sure the tie-break changed a lot of things in this match. He had three set points. I stayed focused on the important points. I was consistent, hitting the ball hard, and I am glad that I won the tie-break”, said Medjedovic. 

Continue Reading

Latest news

Abdullah Shelbayh upsets Alex Michelsen to win his first win at the Next Gen Finals in Jeddah

Published

21 hours ago

on

29/11/2023

By

Jordan’s wild card Abdullah Shelbayh beat world number 97 Alex Michelsen 4-2 1-4 4-0 4-0 to clinch his fourth top 100 win. Shelbayh moves to 1-1 in Red Group. 

 

Shelbayh hit 26 winners, including seven aces. The Asian player will face Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic in his third round robin match. 

Shelbayh earned the first break in the third game of the opening set to take a 2-1 lead. The wild card held his next two service games at 30 to close out the first set 4-2. 

Michelsen, who reached the ATP 250 final in Newport last summer, broke in the second game of the second set to take a 2-0 lead, when Shelbayh made a backhand error. 

Michelsen earned a break point in the first game of the third set, but Shelbayh saved it with an ace. The Jordanan player held serve before breaking serve to close out the third set 4-0. Shelbayh won four consecutive games with two breaks of serve to win the fourth set 4-0. 

“Having the opportunity to play here now to finish here, I could not ask for a better end to the year. I appreciate all the support throughout the week that I have been receiving already, throughout the year and from the Arab world especially. It makes me happy to represent my country. There is some pressure but you feel like it’s good pressure to have on you shoulders when you are representing your country and the region you come from”,said Shelbayh. 

Shelbayh improved his ATP ranking from world 470 to 185. His tennis idol is Rafael Nadal. Shelbayh has trained at the Rafa Nadal for more than five years. Toni Nadal flew to Jordan when Shelbayh was 13 years old to recruit him to train at the Rafa Nadal Academy. He became the first Jordanan player to win a main-draw ATP Tour match last April against Elias Ymer in Banja Luka. 

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending