Omar Gjakalone is an anonymous Italian tennis player, 874th on the ATP list.
He is one of those who will probably stop playing tennis after the crisis is over.
For people like him, only crumbs remained in the distribution of wealth, and in the future there may not even be any.
The top tennis players, led by Djokovic, Nadal and Federer, have taken some steps to help lower-ranked players, but the aim of the campaign is to help guys ranked 250 to 700 on the ATP list.
Đakalone is not on that list, but he thinks he should be, so he sent an open letter to Novak Djokovic.
'Bye, Nole. I'm writing to you because you seem to be the only person capable of understanding and doing something for us, because I honestly believe that I would achieve nothing by sending a message to ATP. I have always admired you both as a player and as a person. You always showed your heart and modesty and that was best shown by your concern for us lower ranked players. You have taken certain steps, because you are ready to help players from 250th to 750th place.
I believe that in these conditions no one should feel abandoned. Everyone who tries to make a living from tennis and achieve their goals. All players, not only those up to the 700th place, should be part of the system and should not be left to their own devices as before,'' he wrote to Italy.
"I'm talking about those players who can't rely only on the ATP and ITF for food and accommodation because they also have to pay for racket maintenance, physiotherapists, and most of them don't even have the opportunity to have a coach. During my career I met a lot of great players who were killed by the system and had to stop following their dreams because they didn't have a family to support them. We have to go to 'God behind our feet' locations, we go to places that can't even provide accommodation for the players, and the ITF chooses them just to make money. However, we still do it because we are following our dream.''
"I played in approved locations among cockroaches, where we didn't have training fields, where gyms and showers didn't work. In such conditions, I felt that the system was abusing me. When the order of the list changed two years ago, I had to spend 50 thousand euros to stay around the 500th place, but then ITF tournament points were not counted, so I was unranked.
I hope it won't be like that again. I hope that the pandemic will raise awareness about a possible solution, and I feel that this is my last chance to make my dream come true. I never did this sport for the money - if I did, I would have stopped long ago if I didn't have a lot of money at the end of the season. Considering how much covid-19 has affected me, I need to find a job and I want this not to happen to younger players who have the same dream. They deserve a chance. This is a dream that everyone has, not just some, and you, Nole from the streets of Belgrade, are living proof of that.
Thank you, Nole.
PS I forgot to say that I had the honor of training with you," says Gjakalone in the letter.
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