Recently, the news about the PTPA's public prosecution of the four tennis organizations has exploded public opinion, and from the point of view of some professionals, this may seem more like a rescue for modern tennis, because it seems that in many ways, tennis now seems to be hopelessly rotten.

The most intuitive manifestation of the development of modern tennis is that the players' hitting is becoming more and more violent, the rationality and technical logic of hitting the ball are slowly disappearing, and the strength helps players directly solve many technical and tactical problems. But in this way, the sport also puts forward higher requirements for the physical fitness and physical fitness of the players themselves, which in turn means that the players will have to bear a higher risk of injury. Judging from the Grand Slam withdrawals in recent years, this conclusion is definitely not alarmist! Now, the players are experiencing multiple pressures, both physical and mental.

In addition to giving more and more, we must also understand that tennis is actually paying less and less for players. In fact, although tennis is one of the most influential professional sports in the world, there are only about 400 players who can survive on this profession.

The basic reality of modern tennis is that almost only players ranked in the top 100 get some attention and sponsorship, and their income is difficult to support their teams, and they may even have to face having to share a physical trainer with others. According to a survey of tennis data, only 17% of the total revenue from professional tennis is distributed to professional players as prize money. For comparison, several major professional leagues in the United States, such as the NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL, the proportion is around 50%, and the Premier League is as high as 61%.

This is absurd, as one of the world's most professional individual sports, tennis players have long been in a situation where the effort is grossly disproportionate to the reward, the income from the sport is difficult to survive, and there is no job security at all. But many people are indifferent to this, as one netizen commented, "Maybe we have become accustomed to professional players presenting the most beautiful appearance of the sport in the arena." But behind a lot of beauty, nothing is truly beautiful. ”

Recently, Djokovic also touched on this topic, arguing that the core of what the PTPA has been talking about is the welfare of lower-ranked players, noting that most players do not earn enough to survive on the tour, and this situation needs to change urgently. "I've seen some changes in my 20-plus years on the tour, but some fundamental changes have yet to happen," he said. I really hope that the relevant institutions and participants can reach a consensus. ”

Djokovic admits that "in the top ranks, we make a lot of money, and I have no reason to complain myself. But in fact, there are only about 400 people in the entire tennis world who can make a living from the sport, which is not enough for a global sport like ours. I'd like to see that number grow. Tennis is the third most popular sport in the world, but if we talk about maximizing the potential of this sport, we can only rank ninth or tenth. We all know that there is a lot of room for improvement in this sport. I'm nearing the end of my career and I don't mind talking about that. ”

However, he also stressed that he did not agree with some of the content of the indictment, and that he saw a lot of extreme words such as "corruption", which could probably erase all the value of these institutions in the past. "I would very much like to see the current leaders of the ATP and WTA, those who will lead the sport for the next decade, take on leadership responsibilities and understand that these issues are important to them and to everyone," he said. Even if you're not in the council or PTPA, you're still on the radar of hundreds of people as a top player. I think it's a responsibility. You have to remember that you've been through this and we all know how tough it will be in the future. ”

We've been saying what is the significance of PTPA's move? It's hard to say. Because maybe nothing will change in the end, and maybe there will be a lot of reform soon, but the important question is: is tennis really getting better and better now, and making each of us more and more involved? In a sense, the answer to this question already responds to the meaning of everything they do. As the first sentence of the PTPA's statement says, "It's time to fix tennis." "Whether it's for the sake of the players or for the fans, it's time to fix tennis.(Source: Tennis Home Author: Lu Xiaotian)