Dominic Thiem against donating money to lower ranked player; questions commitment

World number three Dominic Thiem has stated that he is not in favour of providing financial assistance to lower-ranked players since he believes that they do not deserve it. The Austrian believes that the players do not give enough to the sport. The top players and the authorities are working on a financial package for the players below a certain rank.

READ: Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal Discuss COVID-19 Fund

Thiem not in favour

In an interview to an Austrian paper, he said that he had played in the tours for two years and he knew that there were many players who did not do enough and give anything to the sport. Thiem went on to add that because of his past experiences, he did not believe that he should be giving any financial package to "such people" and would rather donate to people or institutes which needed it. 

He later went on to add that the players were not going to starve and that every player had worked hard to be at the level they are and nothing had been handed over to them.

READ: LTA Give 20 Million Pound Rescue Package To Grassroots Tennis

Last week, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) issued a statement regarding providing financial assistance to players who are severely affected due to the suspension of the tour due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The federation plans for a collaborative effort to fund the players lower down the rankings.

A joint statement which included the ATP and WTA read, "With so much uncertainty around when it will be safe to restart the professional tennis tours, the international governing bodies of world tennis can confirm they are in discussions to create a Player Relief Program to provide much-needed assistance to the players who are particularly affected during this time of the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis."

"These discussions have been progressing well and details are being finalized with an announcement expected in the near future. Already agreed is that the WTA and ATP will administer the Player Relief Program and all seven stakeholders will make a significant contribution. The health and safety of everyone involved in tennis is the absolute priority for all the governing bodies, and the tennis community has been unwavering in playing its part in limiting the spread of the infection."

READ: Not Just Money, We Are Losing Time Too: Indian Tennis Players Talk About COVID-19 Fallout

Earlier, world number one Djokovic said that he spoke with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal about working with the ATP to set up a fund to help lower-ranked tennis players financially affected by the Coronavirus pandemic. During an IG live session he held with three-time major champion Stan Wawrinka on Saturday, Djokovic described what he called "a long conversation" with Federer and Nadal about "how we can contribute and how we can help lower-ranked guys who obviously are struggling the most". Djokovic talked about trying to amass somewhere around $3 million to $4.5 million to distribute, perhaps to players ranked from around 200th or 250th to around 700th.

READ: COVID-19 Crisis: ITF To Create Player Relief Programme After Indefinite Suspension Of Tour