This will be my last comment on the matter, but I felt a response was necessary in lieu of repeated comments that I have been "dishonest" with captain JL de Jager about my reason for not participating in Davis Cup. JL and now TSA continue to insist that I told them I was opting out of the Davis Cup due to an injury, and that the comments on my blog explaining my true reasons for non-participation are false. I am going to reiterate that everything I wrote in my original blog post was honest and accurate, and any attempts to suggest otherwise are both unprofessional and futile given the facts of the situation. In a gesture of full disclosure, I am going to release the complete text of the email I sent to JL in June regarding my stance on Davis Cup. I have redacted minimal portions of the email to protect the privacy of the parties involved. The email I sent JL read as follows:
From: Kevin Anderson
email address redacted out of privacy for myself
Date: June 3, 2012 22:27:32 GMT+01:00
To: Jl de Jager
email address redacted out of privacy for JL de Jager
Subject: Davis Cup
JL,
Thank you for your patience in waiting for my reply to the up coming Davis Cup tie.
Scheduling of my playing schedule is now a major priority and I have finalized what I am doing for this 2012 summer campaign. After sitting and talking it through with my team, the best option for me is that after the US Open I am to go through a recovery and rehabilitation period to ensure that I remain healthy.
Fundamentally I would like to play Davis Cup, however it comes at the end of long US Summer campaign. As you are aware towards the of the summer of 2011 I developed a fairly serious knee injury. This injury was further compromised as a result of playing Davis Cup which resulted in me having to pull out of my last two matches. The injury turned into a major issue and compromised my playing ability for the rest of the season. It has taken 8 months of treatment and rehabilitation to resolve the injury and I am still currently going through my final stages of rehabilitation and strengthening. This has been at a substantial cost to me.
This year my primary focus is to put my health and fitness first to ensure that I am in the best condition possible to maximize my ability to improve my ranking and career. A couple of the important changes that I have made is to:
1. Employ a full time physio and trainer, which has been invaluable. This means that my expenses have increased substantially.
2. Have a very strict and balanced schedule for playing, rest and recovery/rehabilitation (especially as I am still rehabbing my knee injury)
As mentioned above, my playing schedule, rest time and rehabilitation is of the utmost important. For me to change my schedule and to play Davis Cup would require major changes to my scheduling and subsequent costs would be incurred. As much as I would like to play Davis Cup for South Africa, for what TSA is offering, it is unfortunately not sufficient. I have calculated that it would require
financial amounts redacted out of privacy for myself and TSA as payment, together with my flights to and from the States, to make it viable for me to play.
I hope you understand my position and look forward to your reply.
Regards,
Kevin
The public accusations that I was in anyway dishonest regarding my availability to participate in Davis Cup are incredibly disrespectful and false.
I would also like to address inaccurate comments that JL continued Davis Cup negotiations with me until one month before the tie. I do not understand the source of this statement because it is completely false. My last date of email correspondence (or otherwise) with JL was June 30th, 2012, where he acknowledged my unavailability to play (out of privacy and respect for JL I will not be releasing that email). There has simply been no further discussion of the matter since Wimbledon, and I left England the 2nd of July this year.
It is important to note that I appreciate Ian Smith's candid comments on the Davis Cup situation and the position of Tennis South Africa in general. I have complete respect for the financial situation of TSA, and appreciate that at the end of the day they are operating a business and need to make decisions that promote their financial viability. All I ask in return is the same level of respect and acknowledgement that my professional tennis career is also business, and I too have to make decisions about my competitive schedule accordingly. I believe Ian and I have a mutual level of understanding and respect for each other's situation and that there is absolutely no animosity or resentment between myself and TSA regarding the difficult decisions we have both had to make.
Finally, I want to thank everyone who responded to my original blog with positive and understanding comments. It felt great to know that people were so receptive to my openness about the situation, and finally understood the reasons I chose not to play. Your kindness via my blog, facebook and twitter did not go unnoticed. Thank you again for the tremendous show of support.
Regards,
Kevin
Posted 22nd September 2012 by Kevin Anderson
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SEP
14
An Open Letter Regarding My Decision Not to Play Davis Cup
Firstly, I would like to wish team SA the best of luck this weekend. It is unfortunate that it will not be played in South Africa, but nevertheless I know the boys will play their hearts out. I will certainly be following their progress and supporting them all the way.
There has been talk and speculation as to why I am not playing this tie against Canada in the news and on social media. At first, I thought it was better to stay quiet. Some people understand my decisions, others don't – that’s life. I appreciate the support and can understand fair criticism. However, as is often the case with the media, facts get misrepresented. I do not think forming opinions which are based on inaccurate information is fair or beneficial. Additionally, I've heard statements that are not only incorrect but also out of touch with the reality of professional tennis. For these reasons, I felt it was necessary to set the record straight.
Playing professional tennis is a very demanding profession. It differs to most other sports in terms of its individuality and global reach. The season is all year round, it is played in all parts of the world and is increasingly competitive. Yet I wouldn't change what I do for the world. It's my job, and one that I love doing.
In order to keep improving and be successful there are a few factors to consider. Besides motivation and hard work, one needs to find a way to stay healthy. I have learned that this requires proper tournament scheduling and rest periods. Another major factor is having a strong support team. Due to the success I have experienced so far, I can finally afford to employ a full time coach and physiotherapist. However, as one can imagine this is very expensive. At a minimum this type of setup costs a player $250,000 a year (R2,000,000 at the current exchange rate).
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. Having both a coach and a physio travel with me is a huge financial burden. The prize money for someone with my ranking is not as much as you might expect when compared to the costs of life on tour; it is certainly not comparable to the earnings of Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, etc. Tennis South Africa (TSA) has never provided financial support or funding to help cover the costs of playing on the tour.
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. However for this tie against Canada, TSA 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.
Critics insinuate that the honor of playing for one's country should necessitate a player to compete in Davis Cup ties, regardless of what financial incentives are (or are not) being offered. Of course playing for my country is a massive incentive to play, but I would be foolish not to weigh the consequences as well.
I would also like to clarify my participation in the World Team Tennis (WTT) finals this week. 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.
Finally, I think it is important to point out that I am not the only player who has voiced concerns about the physical and scheduling demands of the Davis Cup. There have been a lot of discussions about possible ways to change the Davis Cup format. It is ridiculous that in addition to the already demanding tour schedule, there are on average 3 Davis Cup ties a year. It is common for top players to make themselves unavailable to play Davis Cup, including Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray. I would like nothing more than to see a new Davis Cup format that would make it easier for all our best players to compete.
At the end of the day, I believe that I have to look out for my own career and my family’s future. My whole life I have made countless sacrifices in order to be the best athlete I can be. Unfortunately, sometimes that means making tough decisions, especially when it comes to Davis Cup. I am a proud South African and I don’t believe I have to prove this by sacrificial Davis Cup participation, 3 times a year. I proudly represent South Africa every time I step out onto the court; I fundamentally believe that South African representation at ATP, WTA and Grand Slam events is just as important for tennis in South Africa as the Davis Cup.
Posted 14th September 2012 by Kevin Anderson
