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Belgian world No. 324 Arthur De Greef says he is fine financially during the coronavirus crisis despite being ranked below the top-300 on the ATP rankings list. The season has been suspended for over two months due to the coronavirus pandemic and the earliest we could see tennis is early-August.
The lower-ranked players have been the most vulnerable ones during the Tour suspension as most of them can't go even for even a month -- some of them even two weeks -- without competing and earning some type of income. The 28-year-old Belgian has earned $416,739 in tournament prize money over the course of his career.
"The federation has supported me since I was 12 years old. I have been playing Grand Slam tournaments for five years. For the moment, I have no winnings but no fees either since I am not playing in a tournament. Not to mention that I have sponsors who continue to support me," De Greef told RTBF Info.
De Greef, a former world No. 113, recently made his return to the practice courts. "I'm happy of course but I must admit that this forced stop was a pleasant moment. I was able to spend more time with my girlfriend and my family.
Very rare moments during a normal season," De Greef said. The growing fear among the players is that the whole season could get eventually called off. "We don't know when the tournaments will resume and I'm one of those who think that it won't be until January 2021," De Greef said.