2016 Rio Olympics will not offer ATP points

Aussie Darcy

Aussie Darcy

Bionic Poster
What the hell??
The Rumour was given by MARCA, and it was confirmed to Site Tenis News by ITF President David Haggerty: 'We can confirm that there will be no points in ATP at Olympic Games. However we believe that players will be honored to play Olympics and points in the rankings will not influence their presence', said the American, who was elected more than one month ago.

Winners of the last two Olympics gained 800 points. In 2008 in Beijing Rafael Nadal beat Fernando Gonzalez 6-3, 7-6 (2), 6-3 to win Gold Medal. In 2012 Andy Murray beat Roger Federer in straight sets in London.

Always according to MARCA, ITF refused to help economically the tournaments penalized by Olympics presence (especially on clay) and this is why there will be no points at Rio 2016.

Olympics will take place on hard courts next August.
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http://www.**************.org/ITF-c...-Olympic-Games-in-Rio-2016-articolo27978.html

Until the calendar was released the other day it was said that the Bogota Open was to be held in the same week as the Olympics but it now says there will be a new ATP250 in Cabo, Mexico. There will no longer be a Bogota Open :( Poor Tomic, the 2 time defending champion.

Edit: here is the reasoning for the removal of the Bogota open.
According to Marca, ATP tournament in Valencia will be replaced by Antwerp, while Mexican Cabo San Lucas will host event that was played in Bogota.

ATP Valencia had dispute between the organisers and the regional government, Tournament Director Juan Carlos Ferrero said.

Former World No.1 Ferrero, who comes from the same region said he was "very disappointed" that an agreement with the Government had not been honoured and they were considering renting or selling the licence for the event, which had been running since 2003.

One of the main reasons for the switch could be the altitude of Bogota. Manuel Mate, tournament owner, said a few months ago that he would be willing to sell the tournament in case of an interesting offer: "This is a business like any other." And he did...

Bogota has been on the ATP calendar since 2013, with Ivo Karlovic claiming the first title and Bernard Tomic winning in 2014 and 2015.
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http://www.**************.org/ATP-A...cia-and-Bogota-tournaments-articolo27951.html
 
Aussie Darcy said:
I think that's terrible! I mean yes players will love playing for the Olympics and all that but getting no points for such a big tournament? Geez... 6 matches to win the gold in 2012. They'll get the money and title but no points for all that work!
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It's harsh for sure.
 
I don't think it will bother the players too much. I doubt they thought too much about ATP points when they played in prior years. The glory of winning an Olympic medal was reward enough in itself - every player that's won has said it was the highlight of their career and everyone that hasn't won has wanted one badly.

Plus there's the problem of the points dropping off the next year with no opportunity to replace them.
 
Who cares? Doesn't really make a difference but I suppose it is a shame that if some does really well they want be rewarded in terms of ranking.


Aussie Darcy said:
I think that's terrible! I mean yes players will love playing for the Olympics and all that but getting no points for such a big tournament? Geez... 6 matches to win the gold in 2012. They'll get the money and title but no points for all that work!
Click to expand...

Money??? lol


Obviously they will earn indirectly from a Gold.
 
So other than money and the satisfaction you get from receiving an Olympic medal for the country you represent, there's no other incentive is there?
What about the guys who've already won Gold (or any Medal for that matter)? What does it mean to them now?
 
vernonbc said:
I don't think it will bother the players too much. I doubt they thought too much about ATP points when they played in prior years. The glory of winning an Olympic medal was reward enough in itself - every player that's won has said it was the highlight of their career and everyone that hasn't won has wanted one badly.

Plus there's the problem of the points dropping off the next year with no opportunity to replace them.
Click to expand...
Krish872007 said:
So other than money and the satisfaction you get from receiving an Olympic medal for the country you represent, there's no other incentive is there?
What about the guys who've already won Gold (or any Medal for that matter)? What does it mean to them now?
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Only 3 people will win an olympic medal, the others will get nothing. (Maybe a participation medal, that's what happens in other sports). So points would make sense, especially because this is one of the biggest things for a tennis player to win
 
Doesn't matter, players compete as athletes at the Olympics, not as professionals. It's not about the money or ATP points, it's about prestige and a chance to represent your country in the biggest and the oldest sporting event in history.
 
Aussie Darcy said:
Until the calendar was released the other day it was said that the Bogota Open was to be held in the same week as the Olympics but it now says there will be a new ATP250 in Cabo, Mexico. There will no longer be a Bogota Open :(
Click to expand...
icon_mad.gif
 
LOL.. Now more players will join the likes of Roddick, Fish, Kohlschreiber in giving this a pass.

The top dogs may still play but I see the 5-10 ranked players trying to focus on the surrounding masters and get their ranking up than slogging for a week to earn zilch. May be they will go to the Olympics and watch the opening , say hello to other sportsmen of their country and tank round 1 .

What is next ? No prize money for Olympics ?
 
Excellent decision. OG is worth more than 750 points, at least 1500 IMO. But it is more about prestige and playing for your country than points or money. Also the entry of the players depend son their country of origin. If you are from a country with too many top players, you may miss out despite making the cut. DC should also stop offering ATP points. It's funny because I just said this to @Firstservingman a few minutes ago and now I see this thread. I was like WTF. :eek:
 
Aussie Darcy said:
I think that's terrible! I mean yes players will love playing for the Olympics and all that but getting no points for such a big tournament? Geez... 6 matches to win the gold in 2012. They'll get the money and title but no points for all that work!
Click to expand...

They get no prize money.
 
About time too. It's not a big tennis title. The medals are coveted because of the personal honour in winning one for the country and it's the only time a player represents their country in tennis in a massive global sporting event. There's Fed Cup and Davis Cup but in scale they're dwarfed by the Olympics.

Even if it was removed completely there would still be posters wondering why.
 
sarmpas said:
About time too. It's not a big tennis title. The medals are coveted because of the personal honour in winning one for the country and it's the only time a player represents their country in tennis in a massive global sporting event. There's Fed Cup and Davis Cup but in scale they're dwarfed by the Olympics.

Even if it was removed completely there would still be posters wondering why.
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Not me, I'd remove it immediately. The Olympics stem from track and field sports etc., it is purely business that has lead progressively to other sports being included.
 
Ralph said:
Not me, I'd remove it immediately. The Olympics stem from track and field sports etc., it is purely business that has lead progressively to other sports being included.
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Ralph, My comment wasn't aimed at you. Removal would be a good thing.
 
So the ITF did not monetarily compensate the ATP for the damage done to their clay events held at the same time so the players get no points?

That seems a little petty.
 
personally agree. Olympics are all about personal glory, but are not part of the tour and its results should not be used to rank players throughout the season.
 
Tennisanity said:
More proof that Olympics is pretty meaningless for tennis legacy.
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You're delusional. Olympics is the only venue A player can play for their country. Players cry if they don't win, like one never sees in other tournaments. Players are very proud carrying their countries flag on the chest. To be an Olympic winner is a HUGE deal. They don't care about the points.

Cant believe all the crap people write in here.
 
Ridiculous. Nothing wrong with giving something like 750 points. This is not about the contenders, this is about all the players who don't have a shot at a medal and are thus favoured skipping it in favour of playing a couple of weak fields in some dumb atp 250.
 
Besides the fact that the Olympics aren't a professional event, I personally enjoy the decision as an American whose favorite player is Djokovic. As big of a fan as I am, I would root for Isner/Sock/Johnson over him in the Olympics or Davis Cup. Now if the American beat Djokovic (unlikely) I don't have to worry about it hurting his ranking.
 
Points shouldn't matter when such an event is held only once every 4 years. The Olympics is really meant to be about bringing countries together and the participation that follows, sorry but if some players quit because they aren't getting some points then it's a d1ckish move. I'm sure everyone can find time to play for such an occasion. ​
 
TheGhostOfAgassi said:
You're delusional. Olympics is the only venue A player can play for their country. Players cry if they don't win, like one never sees in other tournaments. Players are very proud carrying their countries flag on the chest. To be an Olympic winner is a HUGE deal. They don't care about the points.

Cant believe all the crap people write in here.
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It is to be expcted after all the ridiculous stuff Nadal fans said about Olympics being above WTF.
 
mike danny said:
It is to be expcted after all the ridiculous stuff Nadal fans said about Olympics being above WTF.
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Wait until Federer wins Olympics :D:D:D:D
I have very high hopes he is the one that gets it!

Seriously for any sportsman, even tennis, winning the olympics is the greatest achievement. Typical thing your country will love you even more for, country and family becomes very proud. Specially if it is a country who doesn't win that much in summer olympics. Its a very different experience as they hang out with fellow countrymen. Have an olympic gold, my god. Nothing else is better than that. You make history outside of tennis too. It goes a bit beyond tennis. Its the best medal on the planet.
 
Sorry to play devil's advocate... but can't the ATP make these points last 4 years? We wouldn't need to discuss the points not being able to be replaced the next season.
 
This sounds like a really weird decision but, on reflection, points won at the Olympics are difficult to defend over a 4 year cycle. If the winner was awarded 1500 points for example (as many of us think they should) how are they to be defended the following year or does a player keep them until the next Olympics comes along 4 years later? If the points were to come off the following year, how would the player be able to replace them as there is no other tournament that offers that many points except the WTF at year end.
 
Olympic Tennis is a joke.

Stupid music, crying babies allowed in the stands, just one beer available

The person in front of me at security for London Olympics final brought a hamper complete with knives and forks, and was surprised he couldn't bring them in.....

I had seats where the international press sit at WO, just can't get better, but the whole thing was just entertainment and a bit of flag waving. I was at the WO men's final that year and the two things are just not in the same league.
 
PrinceMoron said:
Olympic Tennis is a joke.

Stupid music, crying babies allowed in the stands, just one beer available

The person in front of me at security for London Olympics final brought a hamper complete with knives and forks, and was surprised he couldn't bring them in.....

I had seats where the international press sit at WO, just can't get better, but the whole thing was just entertainment and a bit of flag waving. I was at the WO men's final that year and the two things are just not in the same league.
Click to expand...

That may be your view but the top players clearly don't agree and so I will go along with what they think on the matter!
 
TheGhostOfAgassi said:
You're delusional. Olympics is the only venue A player can play for their country. Players cry if they don't win, like one never sees in other tournaments. Players are very proud carrying their countries flag on the chest. To be an Olympic winner is a HUGE deal. They don't care about the points.

Cant believe all the crap people write in here.
Click to expand...

It's just an exhibition now hahahah :)
 
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