2023-05-10 13:50:00
That Benoit Paire gets carried away on a tennis court, it is usual. But that he gets annoyed even before the tournament is rarer. On Twitter and in The Team, the Frenchman denounced the inconsistency of the attribution of the first wild-cards for the final table of Roland-Garros. On the men’s side, it was Arthur Fils and Hugo Gaston who won the precious sesame, to the chagrin of the Avignonnais who pointed out that a point of regulation had not been respected.
For two years, the French Tennis Federation (FFT) has set up the “Destination Roland-Garros” program, intended to award invitations to the most deserving French men and women since the start of the season. For each table, an invitation is allocated according to a ranking established on the basis of French tournaments, while another is given to the best representative of the International Race, the ranking calculated since January 1, who is not directly qualified for the final table of the tournament.
It was the latter that Benoit Paire was seeking. 118th in the Race on Monday, just 10 places and 25 small points from Hugo Gaston, the former 18th in the world hoped to achieve a good result at the Challenger of Francavilla al Mare and overtake his compatriot. The regulations, published at the start of the season, stipulated that the classification of May 15 would prevail. Yet the guests were announced a week in advance.
“The classification initially planned for the allocation of wild cards for the International Race was that of May 15, but it was finally brought forward to May 8 since the Rome tournament will not end until May 21”, specified the FFT in its press release announcing the lucky winners. A justification that did not convince the player, who underlined on Twitter: “The race ranking is updated every day, so there will be a race ranking on May 15. »
Benoit Paire spoke more to The Team, confirming his misunderstanding. “The rules say it’s May 15. We cannot go back. I hope this is a mistake on the part of the FFT and that they will rectify it,” he said. Adding: “I did my programming to give myself a chance and I decided to go to Francavilla to grab the points that I have behind Hugo. I thought to myself that I had a good shot to play here. I’m seeded. »
According RMC Sport, it is a disagreement between the FFT and the player which is at the origin of the problem. For several years, the escapades of the Avignonnais on the circuit have irritated the federal leaders, who recently summoned him before the Federal Disputes Commission after his verbal slippage at the Challenger in Matsuyama, Japan, on November 8. Even if no sanction has impacted the player’s career on the ATP circuit, this affair could have prompted the FFT to anticipate the announcement of the guests via this “Destination Roland-Garros” program so as not to offer a wild card to the troublemaker. French tennis.
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