In the middle of all the news surrounding the Australian Open, Fed Cup by BNP Paribas is back in the headlines as squads are being named—-and players are withdrawing.
Team USA will once again be devoid of its biggest stars Venus and Serena Williams and Belgium has received official word that Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters will not compete.
Russia, which has had the strongest squad for several years, will take a secondary team into its opening tie against Serbia as Dinara Safina, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Elena Dementieva, Vera Zvonareva, Maria Sharapova and Nadia Petrova are all unavailable.
For today’s Your Call discussion, should the International Tennis Federation make Fed Cup a mandatory event, even during non-Olympic years?
Should players be required to commit to (and compete at) at least one tie per season?
I have a split opinion on that.. I think the Fed Cup is good. You are defending you nation against many others, and that surely gives glory and a different kind of happiness that these player surely don’t get on the WTA circuit. But, on the other hand, it’s always something that always gets added to the calendar after or before main tournaments, and players simply have to deal with that. It’s probably players main concern- I think. But, If I were a top player I would definitely play whenever I would be called. It’s a different experience. It seems that Russian players like that experience, because of that they always seem a bit superior than the others. But it’s the players call
NOOOO i dont think it should be mandatory,its hard to play for a coach when he/she doesnt appreciate what you do &criticize
Like Sveta said,players dont get paid for FedCup.Then Tarpischev called her adiva.If its mandatory,ITF canpay them by ranking
every thing you do ,,its even harder when the country that you play for do the same thing(show more love to a foreigner
you cant treat a player with disrespect and want them to play for you
Not mandatory all the time but they should have to play a certain amount. No Fed Cup should = No Olympics… Or scrap the cup
there should be greater incentive. turn down a Fed Cup invitation more than an allotted number of times and you’re ineligible to compete at Olympics. to shore this up, there should be a team medal at Olympics.
Unfortunately, the Fed Cup issue boils down to $$ and ranking points, or lack thereof. Tennis is an incentive-based sport, and players are accustomed to being rewarded. Playing for their country gives players a great sense of pride, but it’s an intangible reward. Something needs to change if they want to keep the top players coming back. The WTA Tour schedule also plays a part. Maybe change the format/frequency of match play.
no Fed Cup should not be mandatory!!
I agree with spinboy. If players turn down too many invitations to play for their country at the Fed Cup, they should not be called to represent the country at the Olympic Games. Also, why all this talk about money? It should be an honor to play for your country! Djokovic presented a good idea for the Davis Cup, considering that the national teams participating in the Davis Cup also face the same problem. He suggested that the Davis Cup be played at one venue – like the Soccer World Cup, for example – that it be played at once, and that it last 10 days or two weeks. Maybe the same thing can be done with the Fed Cup.
Fed Cup should NOT be mandatory. Here are the reasons that spring to mind:
(a) You’re playing for your country, but the countries are very different! Russia has so many players near the top, whereas Denmark has only Caroline Wozniacki in the top 460. Why should she be forced to play for a team that would have no chance in the World Group, while so many high-ranked Russians are not needed?
(b) Nationalistic competition may be against the principles of some players. They should not be forced to act against their principles.
(c) Some players don’t respond well to a team-environment, so forcing them to play Fed Cup would make them suffer, and let the team down.
(d) Fed Cup is beyond the WTA’s jurisdiction, therefore it should not consider it appropriate to make it mandatory (although the same could be said of the Majors).
(e) How would players who refused to play Fed Cup be penalised? It carries no ranking-points, and fines are of little meaning to the top players, so how about suspensions? How would it be fair if Caroline Wozniacki were penalised for refusing to play Fed Cup for Denmark, while the fifth-highest Russian may be equally unwilling but not needed?