Exclusive: ATP-WTA merger would be great for tennis - Divij Sharan opens up about Roger Federer's proposal, impact of COVID-19 in world of sports and more

Tennis world has been hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic with plenty of events postponed including the historic decision of cancelling the Wimbledon. Tokyo Olympics, too, have been pushed back to 2021 amid the pandemic. There are discussions that players below the ranking of 100 are struggling financially due to the lockdown phase. Swiss maestro Roger Federer had even proposed a merger between ATP and WTA in a bid to come out stronger post the lockdown period.

Indian tennis star, Divij Sharan, in an exclusive interview with WION’s Digvijay Singh Deo, opened up about life in lockdown, proposal of a merger between ATP and WTA, financial struggles of tennis players, postponement of Tokyo Olympics and much more…

Digvijay Singh Deo: Divij, been a rough time for the UK through this crisis, how have you been managing through all of this?

Divij Sharan: These are obviously tough times for everybody and things in the UK aren't looking very good at the moment. I am pretty much in my own cocoon and only step out to get essentials. So just like most people in the world, I'm trying to stay safe indoors.

DSD: So was it a conscious decision to base yourself in the UK or were you caught bang in the middle of the shutdown?

Divij Sharan: The last tournament I was involved in was India's Davis Cup tie in Croatia in March. After the tie, I returned to Delhi for a few days. I thought I would travel to England to prepare for the clay-court swing. I was scheduled to play a tournament in Morocco and was supposed to train for three weeks in England. A few days after I arrived in England, tournaments started getting cancelled because of the health crisis. India closed its borders and so did the UK subsequently. All these announcements were made in a short span of time and I have been stuck here since then. But it would have been tougher to deal with the situation if I was alone, but I am with my wife, Samantha Murray, who is British and it is nice to be able to spend some quality time with her.

DSD: I think if anyone wants to understand the meaning of staying fit during this period then they should scroll through your Twitter feed. You have made ample use of the back garden.

Divij Sharan: It is great that my wife is also a tennis player because it means I have a training partner during the lockdown. We are trying our best to keep fit, we have a back garden and we use it to do various tennis drills. We try to be as innovative as we can with the drills so that we can keep ourselves active and also enjoy our sessions.

DSD: The first few weeks may have been tough but now seeing more and more videos of players finding novel ways of training. Rohan Bopanna was hitting those forehands and you have found a way to play both forehand and backhand...

Divij Sharan: It is actually a very strange situation, especially for us tennis players. For 10 months of the year, we are on tour and follow an extremely busy schedule. We have a very short offseason, so we have never had a such a long break away from tennis. There is so much uncertainty that we don't know when the season will resume, so there's no goal we can work towards. There is nothing we as players can prepare for. Most of the players don't have access to a tennis court or a gym, so the skill level of players will also suffer. We are trying to stay fit with whatever resources we have access to. It is a very precarious situation.

DSD: How tough is this period for an active player Divij, we can still manage to work from home but the tour professional can't make a career playing e-tennis...

Divij Sharan: Yes, certainly. That holds true for all professions, not just tennis. I feel everyone is in the same boat as the crisis. As sportspersons and tennis players, our career span is very short, so we need to continue to make our living. In terms of my career as well, this break throws my future up in the air. I am 34 and I'm not sure how long I will be able to continue playing. There is no drastic improvement in the situation and no one knows when the next tournament will take place. Initially, I felt the break would be a welcome one for me to recharge my batteries and return to the game, but now there seems to be no restart date for the season. It is possible that the tour is suspended even further than July. As a sportsperson, this is how we earn our livelihood and there is no substitute for competitive action.

DSD: Is waiting or not knowing when the tour will start the toughest part?

Divij Sharan: Yes it is especially tough because I would want to be competing at tour events at this stage of my career. I spent many years in the challenger circuit, I had to work my way up to get the opportunity to play at the big-ticket events. So ideally this is when I would want to play as many tournaments as I can and get higher in the rankings.

DSD: Already there has been a sort of announcement from the tennis bodies that there will be a player relief package coming up. How dire is the situation for professionals below the ranking of 100?

Divij Sharan:Yes, I feel the top 100 players will be able to deal with the shutdown without any financial problems. But as you move down the rankings, players ranked 400 or 500 are not even breaking even when the tour is on, so they are really struggling during the shutdown. In popular team sports like cricket and football, non-elite players are still able to make a decent living, but that is not the case with tennis players.so not just for the coronavirus crisis, the sport would anyway definitely benefit from a fund for lower-ranked players in the long-term/

DSD: What many do not realise Divij is the actual costs of being a travelling professional. We see the cool photos on social media and think this guy has a sorted life. What we don’t see is the nomadic life, paying bills a shuttling from city to city on the tour.what are the expenses like?

Divij Sharan:Yes it's not easy at all. As a doubles player, the prize money for us is nowhere near as much as in the singles competitions. In team sports, there is a backroom and management staff who are there to handle travel arrangements and finances, but tennis players have to manage everything on our own. A player wants to play in as many tournaments as possible, so booking flights and making hotel reservations can get very expensive. If your coach or physio travels with you, then obviously the cost will be doubled. So only players at the top level are able to comfortably manage these expenses.

DSD: Also many others are coming together like Patrick Mouratoglou and Stefanos Tsitsipas to get together a fund for those ranked below 100….Andy Roddick is selling a tennis experience at US Open…

Divij Sharan:Many people who are in a privileged position are trying to help out financially. Even in India, Somdev Devvarman is involved with an initiative which is helping out not just the players, but also the support staff whose livelihoods depend on tennis. I've tried to chip in myself and spread awareness on the matter. Any kind of assistance makes a difference. Hopefully, tennis and other sports will be able to overcome this crisis and return soon.

DSD: Through this crisis, we have seen the top players get involved, be it entertaining fans on social media or donating to a cause. Roger Federer made a suggestion calling for the WTA & ATP tours to be merged. Is it time now?

Divij Sharan: Yes, that would be interesting if the two tours merge. Very few tournaments have both men's and women's competitions. Most of the events are either just for men or just for women, apart from the Grand Slams. I think it would be great for tennis and personally, for me, it would be ideal because my wife is also a professional player and we would get to spend more time with each other. It will definitely need a lot of planning and deliberation from all stakeholders.

DSD: Tell us from a players point of you how this will work, obviously there are many tournaments where the men and women play alongside each other outside of the grand slams. Can this be done?

Divij Sharan: From a player's point of view, if the merger does go through, then venues would need to be ready with the necessary infrastructure to be able to hold both men's and women's competitions simultaneously. So the venues will need to have a substantial number of show courts because we want spectators to attend these matches. So the logistical demands might not make the merger possible for every tournament. But even if it can be done for a few events on the tour, then it would be great for the sport.

DSD: What it will also do is open up the possibility of mixed doubles perhaps becoming a regular tour event and not just something we see only at slams and major games.

Divij Sharan:Right now the mixed doubles event is only part of grand slams, the Olympics and continental competitions like the Asian Games. If it does become a regular occurrence on the calendar, then things would change drastically. The idea is a little ambitious because of the logistical demands of having a combined event, but if it is possible then I am all for it.

DSD: Talking of the games, the Olympics were pushed back and you were on course for making a first appearance at the games. Indian tennis has done well at multi-discipline games and you won the Asiad gold with bops so how do you look at this postponement.

Divij Sharan:Every athlete looks forward to the Olympics since it comes once in four years. Under the circumstances, it is extremely unfortunate that the games were postponed, but there was no other option. Health has to be our top priority and we must overcome this crisis before thinking about preparing for the Olympics next year. All of us want the Olympics to be held in all its glory and in the right spirit.

DSD: Japan PM Shinzo Abe says it will be impossible to hold the Olympics until the virus is contained. So the possibility exists that Tokyo Olympics may never happen. How disturbing is that thought for someone like you who has waited for a chance for so long to make the cut for the Olympics?

Divij Sharan: Yes, it is absolutely devastating. But if the Olympics are not held, then it would probably mean that the tennis season won't start as well, which would also be a huge blow for me. If I get the chance to compete at the Olympics, it would a real honour and the biggest opportunity of my professional career. But I feel it is also important for the regular tennis season to get up and running for other major events to be held.

DSD: Before this lockdown was imposed had you and Rohan Bopanna planned on a run together heading into Tokyo and is that something you will revisit next year.

Divij Sharan: Yes, we had a plan in mind for the 2020 July Olympics. Rohan and I were scheduled to play three clay-court tournaments before the french open. The qualifying period was supposed to end just after Roland Garros. We would have probably played the grass-court swing together as well leading up to the games. But now since the games are going to be held in 2021, we will re-assess our plans once we have more clarity on the situation. Hopefully, we will be able to qualify and get a medal for India at the 2021 Olympics.

DSD: What will be the new normal once it does. Clearly no handshakes but even for a doubles player, there is another person on a court with you so doubles bonding may have to be redefined in the coming days.

Divij Sharan: Yes, our daily life will change considerably in the post-virus world. The way we travel, communicate and plan our lives will not be the same. We might not be able to interact with the fans in the stadium, but I don't think our on-court conduct with our partners will change. A doubles pair spends a lot of time together away from the court as well, so I don't think a fist-bump or a high five will be a health danger. The on-court relationship between partners should not change. But there are bound to be drastic changes away from the court and it will be interesting to see what's in store.

DSD: I always like to end these interviews on an optimistic note so what will Divij do when the lockdown is lifted and the world gets back to normality...

Divij Sharan: I actually miss travelling, so it would be good to get back into my normal routine of going for tournaments. Obviously I would love to be back out on the court. I also haven't been able to meet my family in a while, so I hope I get the opportunity to fly back to Delhi soon. I like travelling by air and keep checking on my 'frequent flyer benefits' with airlines. Strangely I miss being in hotels as well since I'm so used to my nomadic life as a tennis player. Hopefully, I will be able to do all that soon.