Brazilian Bruno Soares, together with Brit Jamie Murray formed the best doubles pair in the world ranking in 2016. Born in Belo Horizonte 38 years ago, he won 32 trophies in the men’s doubles category, including the Australian Open and the US Open. He has been a member of the ATP Players Council for six years, a kind of union that is currently chaired by Novak Djokovic and includes Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
“I am at home in Belo Horizonte. Most people are observing the lockdown, but it is said that Brazil is going to get worse in the coming weeks and you have to be inside to try to lower the numbers. There is uncertainty and fear. And with the economy there will be another madness. Everything has stopped. For me, after the virus, something very bad will come. More people will die, many will be left with nothing, in third world countries like Argentina and Brazil, crime will increase because people will have no way to eat. It is sad,” Soares (25th in the ranking) tells La Nación, from a country that has already registered 136 deaths and 4256 infected by the coronavirus outbreak.
And he adds: “I have the feeling that the situation changes daily. I speak with friends who have other professions and jobs, and people are desperate. They say: ‘I do not earn money, I need to eat, if I do not die of coronavirus, I’m going to starve.’ So, it’s a much bigger issue than the virus at the moment. It’s a nightmare. I don’t like politics, it’s hard to talk about Bolsonaro, but what I do believe is that people from health and the economy have to come together. For the countries in South America, which do not have the structure to withstand something like this, it may be much worse after the virus.”
Tennis, like almost all activities, has been stopped by the global pandemic. What is your outlook for the future?
-The tennis year is crazy: we started with a giant problem in Australia, with forest fires. The tournament went well, but we know the serious problems the country had. Now we are in a worse time. As tennis players we have a big problem: it is a totally globalized sport. In other words, the Argentine or Brazilian soccer league, the NBA, to give examples, will be able to return if those countries have controlled the virus. But not in tennis. The world will have to control the virus for tennis to return. And that’s where the problem lies; tennis will be one of the last sports to return to normal activity. For those of us who work in tennis, the situation is worrying.
What evaluation do you make in the Players Council?
-We had a video call recently. There is a lot to talk about, but not much to do than just wait. With tennis on hold we have problems to define such as the ranking, the tournament schedule, the records, everything that will happen. But we don’t know what will happen, because it is one thing for tennis to return on June 8, as stipulated so far, but it will be another thing if it returns in July, in August or who knows when. There is a vast majority of players who need money on a monthly basis. There are some who can go six months without playing, but most do not. It’s complicated. We are looking at what we can do. It is a subject never seen before.
Are you considering financial aid from the ATP?
-Yes, we’re talking about that, but we still don’t have anything concrete. The issue is when we will return: if we do it in June or July, we will be able to recover much of what was not played, but if we do it in August or later, we will lose a lot, at least half the year. There is a great concern for people who are 150, 200, 300 or 500 in the ranking, who have no way to earn money now. Among those of the Council we have a WhatsApp group. Djokovic, as president, is quite active, they are all very committed. I feel responsible, because I represent the doubles and there are many people who are in a difficult condition, without making money and are suffering a lot.
Is there a chance that tennis will be cancelled all year long and start from scratch in 2021?
-For now, it does not arise, for now I do not see it. Unless health agencies come out and say that this virus will continue to kill people for months and months. But there is no rush to cancel tournaments much beyond four to eight weeks. We don’t have to cancel something for October now, for example. As much as I think that not playing anything this year can be a possibility, due to the situation we live in, there is no reason to make that decision now. It will depend on general health. As a tour, if the world is virus-free in October or September, there is no point in taking advantage of those months until the end of the year. But it is a time when, like never before, we have to work together. Now it doesn’t matter if it’s ATP, WTA, ITF, Grand Slam. And not only in tennis: if I don’t stay home and go out, I will affect the one next door and thus, the country.
That message does not go hand in hand with Roland Garros, which unilaterally rescheduled its date. Were you surprised?
-Yes, all of us found out through social networks; Nobody knew anything. It was quite a selfish move and, with the general bad reaction, they realized they were wrong. It doesn’t make any sense if all tournaments start making their individual moves. The players are dissatisfied with what Roland Garros did and the ATP is not going to approve anything if everyone is not in agreement.
Are you in favour of freezing the ranking?
-Yes. The ATP has five or six options, we are discussing, there is no final decision, but it is best to freeze because nobody is playing. There will always be options, which will not suit you, but you have to look at what will be fairer. The most important thing, when we talk about ranking or rescheduling tournaments in the future, will be to create the same possibility for the world number 1 and 800. You cannot say: ‘Ok, we are going to do the Masters 1000 and then we see the rest’. We have to create the same opportunity for everyone, so we think about ATP, the Futures and the Challengers.
Wimbledon, scheduled for June 29, will decide this week whether to postpone or cancel its next edition.
-Yes. Wimbledon is very close. The question would be: ‘Ok, if we can’t play it in June, are you interested in doing it on another date?’ If yes, it will be necessary to see if it can be rearranged, because due to its conditions and surface [grass], it is not easy. In October, in London, due to the weather, I think it would be almost impossible to play at Wimbledon.
The virus crisis and its influence on match fixing and betting:
The current situation in tennis will further complicate the professional development of many tennis players who already have limitations. Bruno Soares fears that it could fuel a “giant” problem, such as fixed matches and betting: “It is a mafia that knows how to catch people in difficult times. For players who do not know how to travel next month to play a tournament, it’s a temptation for a guy to come and offer them $10,000 or $15,000. So as an organization, we have to educate the players and show them the consequences. It’s difficult to control, because most of these situations are in small tournaments, they are executed directly, no bank transaction. You have to show the players: ‘Look what happens: suddenly you will shake off once or twice, but when they catch you, bye bye, bye bye, you will be a shame to your friends and your family, a frustration for the people who supported you.’ We have to raise awareness and show that it is a giant mess if they do it. It is a crime and as a crime, they will pay for it. There are many good people who fall and when you have messed with the mob, they won’t let you out. An ever-larger snowball is made until the bomb explodes. I hope the virus crisis doesn’t make players think about falling for it again. They would be ruined forever.”
Your compatriot Joao Souza is an example in that sense, right? He is the tennis player who occupied the highest position in the ranking (69th) among those punished by the Tennis Integrity Unit. On top of that, he was punished for life.
-Yes, exactly. And it affects him not only for now as a tennis player, but for everything he wants to do with tennis in general in the future. You will have to find something else. His name was stained. It is quite sad for the player and his environment. What we ask is that people think a million times before making mistakes like that. That just kicks you down, there’s no chance to go forward.
