Once scheduled to play in this year’s International Premier Tennis League during the three-day stretch in Hyderabad, Roger Federer withdrew from the December exhibition event earlier this week. Well-documented financial trouble being endured by the IPTL is the obvious reason.
Agent Tony Godsick assured that Federer’s absence is due to “some problems and uncertainties surrounding the IPTL” and not because of any injury issues. A knee problem has kept the 35-year-old Swiss on the sideline since Wimbledon.
Serena Williams has also pulled out. She had been on the Singapore Slammers’ roster, while Federer was set to join Feliciano Lopez, Mark Philippoussis, and Genie Bouchard on the Indian Aces.
“We have had challenges this year, and we were hoping to get past them,” lamented IPTL founder and managing director Mahesh Bhupathi. “With the current economic climate in India and the uncertainty of spending money, I reached out to both Roger and Serena to explain the situation. They have been both been very supportive of the IPTL the first two seasons and we look forward to bring them in future years.”
The entire IPTL was rumored to be going up in smoke this year. But instead of being canceled, the league got the green light for a third season with four teams instead of five. The Philippine Mavericks are not in action in 2016, instead leaving the spoils to the Slammers, the aces, the Japan Warriors, and the UAE Royals. Hyderabad, Singapore, and Tokyo are the host cities, while the UAE Royals are only playing away matches.
It seems the IPTL can’t afford them.
Ricky, I sent you an email re a Media Pass for the MUBADALA Tennis 2016.
Sorry to hear the news about the IPTL, because it has been fun to watch on the TC….fun format and the players seem to really enjoy it. Can’t wait to see Roger in Australia!
The demise of the IPTL comes as no surprise. It was a brave attempt to grow tennis in Asia but the tortuous format entailed a huge amount of travelling and curtailed the already brief spell of downtime enjoyed by higher ranked players at the end of a hectic season. As for appearing to enjoy it – once they were signed up they under an obligation to simulate enjoyment and provide entertainment for the spectators and TV audiences.