South Africa's top-ranked tennis player, Kevin Anderson, responds to criticism over his failure to make himself available for his country’s Davis Cup World Group playoff against Canada this weekend. Anderson, who lives in the United States, will play in the World TeamTennis finals this weekend instead.
“In 2011 I played Davis Cup because it was financially attractive to do so; I was able to cover my expenses during the Davis Cup week and also the opportunity cost of adjusting my tournament schedule,” the 37th ranked Anderson wrote on his blog. “However for this tie against Canada, [Tennis South Africa] was not able to provide the support that justified me sacrificing my schedule and increasing my risk of injury. If I am injured during Davis Cup play, which happened last year, I receive no support, assistance or insurance from anybody. I am on my own. I told TSA during Wimbledon that the compensation for the tie needed to be sufficient to address the issues at hand. I was available to the play the tie against Canada if TSA had made me an offer that addressed my concerns. However, they did not. …Due to the success I have experienced so far, I can finally afford to employ a full time coach and physiotherapist. At a minimum this type of setup costs a player $250,000 a year. I have funded my entire career on my own. I find myself in a tricky position in attracting sponsors when I am a South African living mainly in the United States, so I have to rely heavily on prize money, which is never guaranteed.
“I would also like to clarify my participation in the World Team Tennis (WTT) finals. My decision to play WTT finals came months after my choice not to play Davis Cup. About a month ago, I was asked if I wanted to compete in the finals of the WTT, which happens to take place the same weekend as the Canadian Davis Cup tie. The physical demands of WTT (which consists of a first to 5 games singles and doubles match) cannot be compared to a Davis Cup tie (which potentially involves 3 different 5 set matches over 3 days). Anybody who suggests otherwise clearly does not know the facts…It has been suggested in the press and by Davis Cup captain JL de Jager that I fabricated an injury to excuse myself from Davis Cup, while having the intention of playing WTT all along. Not only is this completely untrue and unrepresentative of the facts, but it is also impossible given that the WTT team I will play for had not qualified for the finals until early August.”