Should the International Tennis Federation and the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour make participation in Fed Cup and the Olympics mandatory?
I’ve received quite a few comments over the last several days regarding the top players’ lack of support for Fed Cup, so for today’s edition of Open Forum Friday, you have a chance to share your opinion and views with everyone.
Enjoy the weekend and thank you for joining us for Open Forum Friday this week!
The right to refuse is an inalienable human right. It would be especially unfair to make Fed Cup and the Olympics mandatory, when participation in these events is already subject to a player’s nationality. Players should play Fed Cup and Olympics because it is an honour – not because they are forced to.
I agree with Andrew. Maybe countries could impose a penalty, such as not allowing players who skipped fed cup play the Olympics.
A basic Fed Cup criteria is already in place:
The two main criteria for making your nation’s Olympic tennis team are your ranking on the ATP or WTA tour and a requirement that you have made yourself available to play in the International Team Championships of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) for at least two of the years 2005, 2006, 2007, or 2008, including at least once in 2007 or 2008. Availability to play in one Fed Cup or Davis Cup Tie fulfills the requirement for a given year.
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On a slight tangent – if something is an “inalienable human right” making it mandatory won’t affect it.
Players should be rewarded points for playing/being available for Fed Cup matches, and rewarded for winning their ties. The amount of points for the first ~three years should be the same whether playing in the elite world group, or any of the other lesser groups.