The head of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) has volunteered to take a reduction in his pay under a series of new measures implemented to safeguard jobs at the organisation.
ITF president Davis Haggerty has agreed to a 30 percent reduction in his pay. It is unknown as to how much the American tennis boss earns, but website Inside The Games reported that Haggery received $642,000 back in 2017.
All professional tennis tournaments have been cancelled until at least July due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the most notable events to be cancelled is Wimbledon, which was last removed from the calendar back in 1945 due to the Second World War. On the ITF tour, more than 900 tournaments have been postponed. The governing body is in charge of the lower level tournaments, Fed Cup, Davis Cup and Olympic tennis.
“While postponing events and prioritising safety is the appropriate response in these exceptional circumstances, it has resulted in a number of complex challenges, including a significant loss of income.” A statement reads.
“In order to safeguard jobs and protect the long-term health of our organisation and our sport, the ITF is implementing a series of measures, effective from today, which include savings on projects, a job protection scheme for employees and the utilisation of funds from ITF reserves.”
The Senior Leadership Team of the ITF will also take a 20% cut in their pay for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, those currently working to ‘sustain business critical services and essential platforms’ will lose 10% of their pay. As well as the pay cuts, half of the staff will be furlough. Meaning that will be no longer working, but will still be kept on the payroll system.
“The situation we are facing represents a fundamental challenge to our organisation and our sport.” Said Haggerty. “Our purpose is to ensure the long-term growth and sustainability of our sport in collaboration with our 210 member nations, which is why we are making difficult decisions in the short term so that we can continue to deliver tennis for future generations across the globe.”
It is currently in the air if the tour will be able to resume in July due to the pandemic. There has been nearly 1.5 million casus of COVID-19 worldwide as of Wednesday, according to John Hopkins University.
