MUMBAI — While top players donate to coronavirus relief efforts and post cooking and workout videos online, lower level professionals are counting the cost of the tennis shutdown with some fearing they will be unable to put food on the table if it lasts much longer. Novak Djokovic last week pledged one million euros ($1.11 million) to help buy medical equipment in his native Serbia, while Rafa Nadal has called on fellow Spanish athletes to help raise 11 million euros to fight the pandemic. Roger Federer - the other member of the Big Three of men's tennis - contributed one million Swiss Francs ($1.05 million) to help vulnerable families in his native Switzerland. By contrast, Georgia's Sofia Shapatava, the world's 375th ranked women's singles player, has started a petition seeking assistance from the International Tennis Federation (ITF) for lower-level professionals.

Source: International New York Times April 01, 2020 04:30 UTC