In January 2017, Nico Almagro retired half an hour after his fight first round against Jeremy Chardy at the Australian Open. He is accused of doing this to take the 50,000 euro prizethat he said: “I have ten million in the account, I don’t need the money.”
To put an end to this kind of speculation and accusations, the Grand Slams established a new rule starting in November of the same year: Tennis players who are eliminated from the tournament before it starts will get 50% of the prize money. with the other 50% directed to whoever replaces them in the box.
This partly explains why there are not so many withdrawals in the first round and why tennis players preferred to quit Grand Slams in the past rather than risk their physique and reputation by jumping onto the courts when not at 100%.
This Monday, on the first day of Wimbledon, of the 63 matches completed – one had to be suspended due to lack of light – not a single withdrawal. Yes, there was medical attention, as Matteo Berrettini received in his duel against Marton Fucsovics, but there was no mid-fight withdrawal.
However, in the absence of the full first round of men’s and women’s draws being completed on Tuesday, the casualties were high. Eight tennis players have retired since last week before their matches started.
As for the men, Alejandro Davidovich, Pablo Carreño, Corentin Moutet, Dominik Koepfer and Andy Murray dropped out, who tried until the last moment to play singles, but in the end he could only play with his brother Jamie. Among the girls, Aryna Sabalenka, Victoria Azarenka and Ekaterina Alexandrova fell.
To encourage tennis players to communicate their withdrawals in time, the rule introduced in 2017 established that those who announced their withdrawal after 12:00 on the Tuesday before the start of the tournament would receive 50% of prize, that is, 30,000 pounds (35,000 euros).
To this end, the Grand Slams, in their rulebook, require the tennis player to be in the tournament facilities at the time of withdrawal and declared “unfit to compete” by the tournament director.
You must also have played in a tournament within 21 days prior to the start of the Grand Slam. and he can only retire this way in two Grand Slams a year.
The tennis player who replaces him will receive 50% of the prize money.
In this way, solidarity is promoted, especially among tennis players who are lower in rank and for whom the 35,000 euros can make them a whole year of travel.
The Grand Slams are, by far, the tournaments that distribute the most money, in addition to covering accommodation, transport and food for the tennis players, who receive a daily food allowance of 105 pounds per day at Wimbledon.
An unresolved issue, of course, is the damage that these losses do to the structure of the team, because, for example, the resignation of Sabalenka, currently number three in the world, opens up options for her ranks.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
