Top Tennis Players Demand High Appearance Fees Even During COVID-19

When you see a top tennis player participating in a 250-level tournament, you can easily conclude that they were paid an appearance fee to play. The appearance fee for Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic can be over a million dollars depending on the tournament.

Finances of tennis tournaments have been constrained for the past year due to COVID-19. The inability to have fans in stadiums and reduced sponsor interest has led tournaments to slash prize money.

This has also hampered the tournament’s ability to pay appearance fees for top players. Tournaments rarely speak about appearance fees though the practice is common around the world.

This week, the tournament director for the Acapulco event in Mexico, Raul Zurutuza,  said that the tournament will not feature Rafael Nadal this year because the event can’t afford to pay Nadal’s appearance fee of $500,000 to $1 million.

Acapulco will have Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Diego Schwartzman headline the tournament. These players have taken a cut in their appearance fee, according to Zurutuza. The appearance fee for these players is also substantially lower than Nadal’s.

With a lot of tournaments being canceled, many top players have shown willingness to reduce their appearance fee. But as the Acapulco case shows, top players such as Nadal still hold considerable clout over the tournaments.

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Tennis Power Couple Gael Monfils And Elina Svitolina Split

Tennis power couple, Gael Monfils and Elina Svitolina have split after 2 years.  Svitolina made the announcement on social media. The couple’s joint Instagram account G.E.M.S Life has also been deleted.

Gael and I decided to take a break from our relationship. The decision was incredibly difficult, because we still have love for each other, but it’s just two best friends realizing it’s time to take some space and help each other live the most joyous, fulfilled life as possible.

We won’t be commenting beyond this, and we thank you all in advance for respecting our privacy. Sending lots of love to everyone.

-Elina Svitolina

Gael Monfils has not won a tennis match since February last year. The COVID-19 pandemic, the quarantining, and the public limelight seem to have taken a toll on tennis’s most popular couple.

Monfils was in tears after his loss at the Australian Open a few weeks ago.  Monfils said, “I would like to get out of this nightmare but I can’t. I do not feel well. I don’t know when it’s going to end. It’s hard. Every time I get here I feel judged, I’ve lost again.”

Svitolina expressed her support for Monfils after his latest loss. Svitolina lost in the fourth round at the Australian Open to Jessica Pegula.

Continue ReadingTennis Power Couple Gael Monfils And Elina Svitolina Split