Verena Meliss: “You only earn really well at the top”

International tennis likes to present itself as a glittering world, a global sport that lives by tradition and at the same time offers a glamorous stage. A stage for world stars à la John McEnroe, Björn Borg, Boris Becker and Roger Federer. In the shadow of this, however, there is a bone mill that only very few make it through. Beyond the big tournaments, beyond the top 100 in the world rankings, it is often about sporting and economic survival - especially in Corona times. Meliss hopes for help from Federer & Co. The big names in the scene, i.e. Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, are also aware of this problem. You have a plan. The top 100 players, staggered by ranking, are supposed to collect a total of more than four million dollars in a fund and the players in the world rankings 250 to 700 are to receive $10.000 each. They should be helped over the international tournament break. This is likely to last for a long time, even if training will be allowed to resume shortly.

One of the beneficiaries of the aid fund could be Verena Meliss, South Tyrol's currently best tennis player. It is in position 496 in the WTA ranking. “We received an email with initial information about the planned fund. But I don't know what the current state of things is," says Meliss, who says clearly: "I can only hope that it works somehow. Because that would be an enormous help for us.” Recently, however, there has been increasing criticism of the planned support, including world number three Dominic Thiem . “This throws all my plans out the window” Verena Melissa So it's just a matter of waiting for now, also for Meliss. The current standstill can still make her smile a little: “At least we don’t have any travel expenses at the moment.” In tennis, unfortunately, “those at the top earn really good money, but we have to struggle below.” Tennis professionals are different than winter sports athletes or track and field athletes, for example, are not part of any sports group. They depend on prize money and sponsors. Meliss, for example, collected around 3000 euros in bonuses in the WTA circus this year, a large part of which came right before the Corona stop, when things were really going well for the Kalter native, who was registered at TC Rungg.

Verena Meliss reached the final of the $15.000 tournament in Cancun for the second time in her career.

In February, Meliss narrowly missed out on her first tournament victory as a finalist in Cancun, Mexico. As a result, she was ranked 487th in the world, better than ever before in her career. It was supposed to be the starting signal for a season in which the 22-year-old was aiming for a definitive breakthrough. But then Corona came. “Of course, that throws all my plans out the window. In a shortened season, no big jumps in the world rankings are possible.” By moving into the top 500, she has already secured the right to start in qualifying competitions at larger tournaments, but the top 300 should actually have been targeted. “Rather than the ranking, my focus at this time is on improving my game, working on old weaknesses and maintaining motivation,” says Meliss. The focus is on studying Even if traveling to tournaments will probably be impossible for several months and the Überetscher is spending a lot of time at home, there is no trace of boredom for her. She is currently intensifying her online studies in sports science. “I’m really interested in that. Sport is my passion, which will fulfill me in one way or another throughout my life.” Meliss also shows a lot of foresight away from the tennis court. She works hard on herself, plans ahead and wants to be independent. Regardless of the helpfulness of the big tennis stars.

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Verena Meliss: “You only earn really well at the top”

Tennis has a very special place in the corona crisis. Although the felt ball will soon be flying again around the world, the effects of the pandemic will be more noticeable than in almost any other sport. For many professionals they are simply a threat to their existence.

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