Stefanos Tsitsipas - the youngest player in the top-10 of the ATP world rankings - wants to do his bit for those players less well off because of the coronavirus shutdown.
Play in both the ATP and WTA Tours is suspended until mid-July at the earliest as a result of the pandemic.
Last week, Serena Williams' coach Patrick Mouratoglou wrote an open letter to raise awareness about the financial plight of players outside the world's top 100.
At the same time, Tsitsipas had a brainwave to help support those outside the top-100 on both tours.
They've now put their heads together and come up with Beyond 100 Support - an auction site to help those beyond the upper echelons of world tennis.
Let’s support our sport together. https://t.co/ppROGj8eXy pic.twitter.com/6IIvJ2OpFn
— Stefanos Tsitsipas (@steftsitsipas) April 23, 2020
Tsitsipas was ranked outside the top-100 until 2017, so knows all to well the financial bind that players now find themselves in without regular income.
Of the Beyond 100 initiative, the 2019 Australian Open semi-finalist wrote, "As the youngest player in the top 10, I feel responsible to help the future of tennis.
He added, "I understand how critical it is for the sustainability of both ATP and WTA players ranked beyond the top 100 and how difficult it is to make a living from professional tennis, especially with no tennis events going on for an undefined period of time.
"Through the creation of “Beyond 100 Support”, I hope to start a movement that my fellow players will follow suit."
The public can offer a flat contribution, starting at $1, and there are also a number of items up for silent auction.
Among them are a one-hour coaching session with Mouratoglou, ATP Finals tickets and hospitality packages, Coco Gauff's New Balance shoes, and several items of Tsitsipas' own tennis gear.
Mouratoglou says, "The situation of players ranked beyond the top 100 is becoming more and more worrying as they might not be able to pursue their careers — their passions — if the current health crisis were to last for too long.
"Beyond 100 Support emerged as a much-needed initiative to improve the conditions of those players in the immediate term, and gives us more time to build a solution for the long term."
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