Tennis players refused to go to matches in Italy. A solid tournament turned into a disaster

This year, the ordinary ATP 250 tournament in Naples has gained unexpected popularity – however, its organizers certainly did not dream of such glory. Many players already regret that they came to competitions in Italy: it is simply impossible to play on local courts!

However, the problems of Naples are not limited to this.

Court problems

The tournament in Naples, which had the status of “challenger” last year, this season has risen to the ATP 250 level and made it to the main draw. But the organizers of the competition were not ready for this responsibility.

The Italians faced problems even before the start of the main draw. The players refused to go to qualifying matches due to the poor quality of the courts. The coating turned out to be so terrible that it simply gave way underfoot. The organizers tried to eliminate the inconvenience by moving matches even to other courts in the city.

Photo: © Agn Foto / Keystone Press Agency / Global Look Press

However, this decision did not change anything globally. The main draw was supposed to start games on Monday, but they were asked to wait until Tuesday, as the tournament management found a non-trivial solution: to bring coverage from Florence, where Canadian Auger-Aliassime won his second of 11 finals a few days ago.

It seemed that this move would close all the questions – but no such luck. The Spaniard Ramos-Viñolas, seeded under the seventh number, did not remain silent and, right during the match, complained to the referee about the court, showing the places where the ball does not jump.

One of the favorites, the second seeded Matteo Berrettini, feeling ashamed of his compatriots, carefully noted:

“We were told to be careful on the side by the sea.

He will play his first match on October 20 in the second round against the Spaniard Carballes-Baena. The very fact that even the first round has not yet been played by Thursday means that it is unlikely that the matches will be completed on Sunday.

Kicked out of the hotel

The threat to health is only part of the troubles that tennis players got into in Naples. Colombian player Nicholas Barrientos and his wife experienced real stress: they were simply thrown out of the hotel room while the Latin American was meeting in pairs:

– This is too much! This never happened to me even on the Challengers. I returned after the match at 5 o’clock and found all my things and my wife’s things in the lobby – poorly assembled, something was lying on the floor, – said the Colombian.

Nicholas Barrientos / Photo: © Manuel Velasquez / Stringer / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

It turned out that while the 67th racket of the world was playing a match in a pair, he received a notification in the mail about the need to relocate. Naturally, he could not read the message, but the hotel took care of everything and brazenly threw out the guest’s things.

“I was already moved once, on the second day after arriving at the tournament,” Nicholas added.

For our tennis players, what is happening in Italy does not pose any risk. Most of the top Russian players have chosen to participate in the ATP 1000 tournament in Guadalajara – more representative and, of course, much better organized. Well, no one canceled the selection for the final tournament: for a victory in Mexico they give four times more points than in Italy.

The fate of the Neapolitan tournament raises big questions, because force majeure may not end there. But the problems that have happened are enough to state that it does not reach the level of the ATP main draw.