eBusiness Weekly
Both men are considered two of the greatest tennis players of all time.
Tennis icons Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have been slammed by Marco Trungelliti over their failure to help reduce the inequality in tennis.
The best players in the world earn millions from prize money and sponsorship deals.
That has, however, led to a big pay gap with many other players struggling to make a living out of the sport.
Some individuals even have to borrow money in order to travel to competitions that take place outside of their home country.
One player looking to address the issue is Novak Djokovic, with the Serb launching his Professional Tennis Players Association back in August 2021.
The world No 1 wants money from the top to filter down to those at the bottom.
And Trungelliti has now praised Djokovic while condemning both Federer and Nadal for not doing enough.
Speaking to La Nacion, he responded to a question about the impact of Djokovic’s association by saying: “I think it is indispensable.
“People may not like it, but Federer and Nadal never said anything.
“Whether you like it or not, they are complicit in how bad the system is, because they were not able to open their mouths even once and fight for the rights of the players.
“If they ever did it, it was internally, but it didn’t change anything.
“Only this year the Challengers’ prizes were changed a little, but they are still embarrassing when we supposedly came out of the most golden era in the history of tennis.
“You can’t be complicit in the fact that 80-100 people make a living from tennis.
“It’s what has always bothered me and will continue to bother me.
“As players, they can be very good, but as humans trying to improve the system in general, they seem very poor to me.
“This is what Djokovic and (Vasek) Pospisil are doing today as well.
“Plus, all that work at the PTPA takes up time and energy.”
The world No 236 also shed light on the match-fixing scandal he was involved in back in 2015.
The 33-year-old was approached by bookies eight years ago and he reported the matter to the Tennis Integrity Unit.
Argentine players Nicolas Kicker, Patricio Heras and Federico Coria were then slapped with suspensions.
And Trungelliti has admitted he fears for his life as a result of making a stand.
“I did not return and played only in Europe, which did not guarantee me absolute security either,” he continued.
“Maybe in Andorra yes, because everything is smaller.
“But there were places, even in Europe, where I didn’t go; I played everything in Spain and Italy.” — gbsport
