The once-promising International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) has had a rough 2016, having had to reduce its originally intended format from five cities to three. And now, reports have come out that two of the biggest names in the sport have just pulled out from the tournament, as Roger Federer and Serena Williams will not be playing in this year’s competitions.
“We have had challenges this year, and we were hoping to get past them,” IPTL Founder and Managing Director Mahesh Bhupati’s released statement said. “With the current economic climate in India and the uncertainty of spending money, I reached out to both Roger and Serena to explain the situation. They have both been very supportive of the IPTL the first two seasons and we look forward to bringing them in future years.”
According to Sportinglife.com, the message was echoed by Roger Federer’s agent Tony Godsick, who confirmed that his client’s withdrawal from the IPTL was due to “some problems and uncertainties surrounding the IPTL,” adding that Federer “hopes to play in future years if the IPTL continues.”
With a number of big names having already pulled out due to the IPTL’s current challenges, the highest ranked singles player left in the tournament is world number 10 Tomas Berdych, who is playing for the UAE Royals. In the IPTL’s first two years, apart from Roger Federer and Serena Williams, other big tennis names that participated included Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
Both Roger Federer and Serena Williams are coming off injuries. As noted by Sportinglife.com, Federer as been out since July recovering from a nagging knee injury, while Williams has not played since the U.S. Open, nursing a shoulder injury.
The IPTL 2016 opened last Dec. 2-4 in Tokyo and was followed by a leg in Singapore that will run until Dec. 8. From there, the tournament warps up in Hyderabad, India from Dec. 9-11.
