Multiple Grand Slam champions Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal failed to fight for the rights of their peers concerning the quality of the lower-level Tour, according to one player.
Marco Trungelliti has accused the two tennis greats of not addressing the issue of inequality in men’s tennis when they both had the opportunity to do so given their status in the sport. Both Federer and Nadal are also former members of the ATP Player’s Council which is a group of elected players who serve and act as the voice of the player body in tour-wide decisions.
The other member of the Big Three, Novak Djokovic, was also previously on the player’s council before stepping down to form the PTPA alongside Vasek Pospisil. A separate body that campaigns for players to have a greater say in the decision-making process.
In a wide-ranging interview with La Nacion newspaper on Sunday, Trungelliti claims that Federer and Nadal have both failed to speak out about issues with the tennis system. Brading the actions of the two players as ‘very poor.’ On the other hand, he has hailed Djokovic’s efforts being made with the PTPA. Even though some have previously accused that organization of trying to cause a divide in the sport.
“I think it is indispensable. People may not like it, but Federer and Nadal never said anything,” he said.
“Whether you like it or not, they are complicit in how bad the system is, because they were not able to open their mouths even once and fight for the rights of the players.“If they ever did it it was internally, but it didn’t change anything. Only this year the Challengers’ prizes were changed a little, but they are still embarrassing when we supposedly came out of the most golden era in the history of tennis.
“You can’t be complicit in the fact that 80-100 people make a living from tennis. It’s what has always bothered me and will continue to bother me. As players, they can be very good, but as humans trying to improve the system in general, they seem very poor to me. This is what Djokovic and [Vasek] Pospisil are doing today as well. Plus, all that work at the PTPA takes up time and energy.”
In recent months the ATP has increased the level of prize money available at Challenger events. In a press release issued in September 2022, prize money on the Challenger Tour this year has a total value of $21.1M which is a year-on-year increase of 60 per cent (in 2022 it was $13.2M).
Trungelliti is no stranger to speaking about issues that some of his peers might not want to. A few years ago he became a publically known whistleblower concerning match-fixing in tennis. His identity was revealed because the Tennis Integrity Unit did not hide his name during hearings of other players. Nicolas Nicker, Federico Coria and Patricio Heras all received penalties for match-fixing related to testimonies given by Trungelliti.
Due to the fallout from his revelations, Trungelliti said he feared for his safety when playing in certain countries. This week he is playing an event in his native Argentina for the first time in five years. His decision to do so was driven by the desire for his young son to meet members of his family.
“I did not return and played only in Europe, which did not guarantee me absolute security either,” he explained. “Maybe in Andorra yes because everything is smaller. But there were places, even in Europe, where I didn’t go. I played everything in Spain and Italy. I only went to Banja Luka (Bosnia) once’
“Something that happened to me, linked to depression, is that when the tournament ended I wanted to return home as soon as possible, which was the only place where I felt safe.’
“Today we returned to the country (Argentina) because I also want my son to meet his grandparents and my grandmother. Afterwards, it may be that I’m playing here, I feel bad and I don’t want to come back, but that’s another thing.”
Trungelliti is currently ranked 236th in the world.
