Tennis stars unite to fire back at money complaints at UTS London – EXCLUSIVE

As the debate around the demanding tennis calendar continues, some have suggested players can’t complain if they enter lucrative exhibitions instead of taking a week off.

But the stars have now hit back, making their own arguments for playing outside of the regular tours.

Eight top tennis players are competing at the Ultimate Tennis Showdown in London this weekend and they all told Express Sport why they wanted to compete during the off-season, citing everything from the prize money to their preparations.

Billie Jean King is among those who have argued that players must stop playing exhibitions if they want to complain about the demands of the pro circuit. The tennis icon recently told the BBC: “They get a month off and they go play exhibitions.

“I go really? You guys said you needed the rest. Don’t tell me you think the season is too long. I know if there’s enough money you go and you play. It’s a really tough argument for me to listen to the players.”

That’s been the case this weekend in London, where Alex de Minaur, Andrey Rublev, Ugo Humbert, Holger Rune, Alexander Bublik, Gael Monfils, Thanasi Kokkinakis and Jan-Lennard Struff are competing in the UTS Grand Final.

Some, as King suggested, are lured in by the prize money – even those who lose three round-robin matches walk away with £78k. But most see it as part of their training block.

“It helps make a living. It’s honestly that simple,” Kokkinakis – who also played UTS Frankfurt this year – told Express Sport. “This is one of the perks of playing for sure.

“But there’s a lot more to it than just the financial side here. It’s very exciting, it’s very fun, the crowd gets into it. These events are great and they do set you up for the Grand Slams and things like that. There’s definitely a lot of things that you can take from UTS to the tour.”

World No. 33 Bublik agrees. “I won’t lie to you, it’s good money here and it’s a good opportunity to play against the best in the world,” he said. “High-end field and just extra matches, extra cash, it’s always nice at the end of the season.”

The unusual format – where players must earn as many points as possible in four quarters, each lasting eight minutes – means most of them see UTS as their cardio and endurance week.

Top-10 star Rublev explained: “Here, the intensity is really high and you play really seriously. In a normal endurance recovery that I’m doing when I’m in pre-season, there is no fire because you just do a workout and that’s it.

“Here you do an endurance workout and you are full of emotions, you are full of adrenaline because you are competing and it’s even tougher than a normal endurance workout so it gives you a little preparation and improvement.”

The eight UTS competitors are still training as normal around the event, as De Minaur proved he didn’t turn up for a hit-and-giggle. “It gives me a nice little fine-tuning moment in the middle of the pre-season,” he noted.

“Even though I am playing these matches, there’s still a lot of the work that goes on behind the scenes, a lot of hours spent in the gym and on the practice court. Because ultimately this is still our pre-season and we want to make sure the body is in the right stage come the start of the season.”

Rune is doing the same. He said: “It’s just a part of the pre-season for me. It’s not like you’re training for three weeks to be ready for UTS, I’ve been training for three weeks to make myself ready for Australia and UTS is a part of it to make me ready.”

Some don’t even view UTS as a traditional exhibition. Humbert, who ended the ATP season by reaching the Paris Masters final, stated: “It’s not really an exhibition, it’s a tournament.

“We all play 100 per cent so I’m super happy to be here, it’s nice for me, for my preparation for next season. I work on my cardio this week.”

For a showman like Monfils, UTS is a chance to show off his flair. “The prize money is great. But to be honest, for myself, the format is great,” he explained.

“Sometimes I come here to more entertain, now I’m coming and playing a little bit more seriously to try and find my game for the pre-season.”

Struff, who was a last-minute addition to the line-up when Denis Shapovalov pulled out, cut his vacation short to head to London – a testament to how much he enjoys the event. “I think if you shorten your holidays to play here, this means a lot already,” he argued.

“We all can use a bit more holidays during the year, it’s pretty packed and full, but I feel like every player likes to play these events, everybody is fighting full.”

While there’s no doubting the tennis players need more opportunities to recuperate during the long season, the UTS stars have thought long and hard about their decision to play in London and they no longer see the one-of-a-kind tournaments as exhibitions.