Ouch... Thiem: "I Don't See Why I Should Give Them Money"

It looks like Dominic Thiem is not going to win a popularity contest any time soon. In a recent article in the Austrian newspaper, Krone, Thiem came out and said, "No tennis player is fighting to survive, even those who are much lower-ranked. None of them are going to starve"..."I don’t really see why I should give such players money,"..."I would rather give money to people or organizations that really need it".

There are two sides to this quote: one, he may have a point in saying that players that are struggling to make it into the Top 100 can have a backup plan or have enough financial support to help them while they are trying to make it. The second point, and more of my stance on the subject, one of the biggest names in tennis behind the Big 3, is trying to shut down an initiative that Djokovic is leading the way for.

First of all, Thiem has a right to do whatever he wants with his money. He has earned his way to the top, has been dubbed the "Prince of Clay", and is already made it to be one of the Top 5 best players in the world. That ALSO doesn't mean he has to be sort of selfish. In times like these, we are tested and are given time to reflect on our lives and what we can do better once this whole thing has blown over. Djokovic has to lead an initiative to help players receive financial support that are at the lower rankings who are struggling to make ends meet. Stefanos Tsitsipas and Patrick Mouratoglou have started a fund to help players outside of the Top 100.

Both of these projects are supposed to help the backbone of the sport and help those who will, hopefully, be the future stars of the sport. Every player has to start from somewhere. And a lot of them start in the "minor leagues" of the tennis world. This is where every player has come from, even Dominic Thiem. So I don't think it Thiem should be this quick to judge this project the three goats are trying to put together.