The Paris Masters tournament director has broken his silence after Jannik Sinner was forced to pull out due to illness.
The world No. 1’s withdrawal comes after his recent victory at the Six Kings Slam, a Saudi Arabian exhibition event that saw him bank £4.6million.
Cedric Pioline has now raised concerns over the Saudi’s involvement in tennis, claiming the money at the Six Kings Slam “disrupted” the tennis tour.
The Paris Masters was set to be Sinner’s first official tour-level event since he won the Shanghai Masters two weeks ago. But the 23-year-old suddenly announced his withdrawal on Tuesday.
“I came very early here to prepare and then I felt sick,” Sinner said in a social media video. I’m having a virus at the moment, which is gonna pass in the next two or three days. Body-wise, I am not able to compete.”
The tournament boss has now had his say on Sinner’s withdrawal, revealing he spoke with the Italian. “It’s a virus that he contracted before arriving in Paris,” Pioline said.
“I was able to speak to him a moment ago because he came to see me very kindly. He was very disappointed by this withdrawal.”
Sinner’s Paris Masters withdrawal came just over a week after he won the Six Kings Slam, beating Daniil Medvedev, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz on his way to clinching the trophy and a £4.6m prize cheque.
While Pioline didn’t think the Saudi event contributed to the world No. 1’s withdrawal, he did raise fears over the money involved in the lucrative exhibition. The tournament director continued: “It’s not up to me to judge.
“Every player, including Jannik, organises his season as he sees fit. You could even say that, in general, Jannik is one of those who has a logical schedule and doesn’t overload his calendar. So I was quite confident.
“As a high-level athlete, they are fragile from an immunological point of view at the end of the season, there are little things that circulate and they can catch. Is it a question of bad luck? Probably.”
There have previously been talks of Saudi Arabia getting more involved in tennis and even staging a Masters 1000 event. The nation’s Public Investment Fund also has partnerships with the ATP and WTA.
Pioline knows there have been discussions and he’s now concerned about the “tennis ecosystem”. He added: “There is the geopolitics of the circuit and the discussions at the Grand Slam, ATP and WTA level about consolidation and reorganisation.
“Nothing has been decided yet. Certainly, from my point of view, we have to be vigilant to ensure that there is coherence.
“With the money on the table in this Saudi exhibition, it is something that disrupts and destabilises the existing ecosystem, which is not necessarily very healthy.”
Content Source: www.express.co.uk