WTA Players Upset About New Fed Cup Requirements

Written by: Staff on 4th September 2012

WTA Players Upset About New Fed Cup Requirements |

The new WTA Players Council is upset with the ITF about the new Fed Cup requirements and there has been limited talk about the tour starting their own international team competition, possibly sometime in 2014.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands, who is a member of the new WTA Players’ Council, says that the ITF never talked to the players before they decided to up their requirements to play the 2016 Rio de Janiero Olympics to four Fed Cup appearances, up from two.

“It’s tough because from my point of view at the end of the day the ITF is holding the Olympics captive saying play our event or we won’t let you play in the Olympics,” Mattek-Sands told Daily Tennis. “That’s not right. No other sport does it, all the players including myself love playing the Fed Cup, we love playing for our country. But for the ITF to hold it at ransom saying we’re not going to allow someone who plays for the country every single week. I noticed every time my name’s in the draw it says USA after it. I play for my country and I think that’s what players are most upset about and when we’ve come at them with that, they’ve said no, but you’re really playing for your country for Fed Cup, and we say no we’re playing for our country every week.”

Mattek-Sands is part of new Player Council that includes Serena Williams, Samantha Stosur, Francesca Schiavone, Caroline Wozniacki, Lucie Safarova, Andrea Hlavackova and Akgul Amanmuradova .

Venus Williams was voted off the board as her ranking dropped and she had to run for the representative position for player outside of the top 50 and was beaten out by the outspoken Hlavackova.

But Olympic gold medalist Serena is on board and according to Mattek, isn’t thrilled with the ITF’s move .

“I know Serena said, ‘Well I guess they don’t think I’m American,;” Mattek-Sands said. ‘Some of the decisions they’ve made public before they’ve even talked to us about it, which was upsetting for us because again, they’re not even listening to the players’ voices. That’s frustrating for us. It’s not right. Caroline is from Denmark, she’s in a [lower Fed Cup zone] and is like ‘I gotta go to some random countries in Africa and play someone number 600 in the world. I have to do it and its doing nothing for my tennis.’ I think just the fact that they’re holding it at ransom because they make money off of Fed Cup and they say you have to play now and we want you to play even more.”

Mattek-Sands said the players are unified on the issue and added that in 2013 it appears that players are going to be allowed to play exhibitions during Fed Cup weeks and the WTA is considering also adding international level tournaments during those weeks.

“There’s also been word about the WTA putting on team [competition] and doing it for their side of things,” she said. “We could offer points. I don’t think we could do that next year, it’s just something we’ve put out there.”

Topics: Andrea Hlavackova and Akgul Amanmuradova, BETHANIE Mattek-Sands, Caroline Wozniacki, Francesca Schiavone, ITF tennis news, Lucie Safarova, Samantha Stosur, Serena Williams, WTA tennis news