Dominic Thiem critisises prize money distribution in tennis

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World No. 3 Dominic Thiem has critised the money distribution in tennis as he says it's not his fault that the lower-ranked players aren't as protected as they might should be. Over a month ago, world No. 1 Novak Djokovic proposed that top-100 players each donate from $5,000-30,000 on a sliding scale to support the player relief fund.

As part of Djokovic's proposal, top-5 players in the world each would donate $30,000. Thiem, a back-to-back French Open runner-up, publicly said he was opposed to Djokovic's proposal and added most of the lower-ranked players aren't fighting enough to succeed in the game.

The 26-year-old Austrian has received a lot of criticism since then -- mostly from the lower-ranked players. "How is it possible that you win a Challenger event and still lose money because you brought a coach you have to pay? But it's not Mr.

Thiem who can put things right, it's the tournaments, organisers and stakeholders," Thiem told Der Standard Sport.

Dominic Thiem critisises prize money distribution: "How is it possible that you win a Challenger event and still lose money because you brought a coach you have to pay? But it's not Mr.

Thiem who can put things right, it's the tournaments, organisers and stakeholders." — Lukas Zahrer (@ZahrerLukas) May 25, 2020

The season has been suspended since mid-March and the lower-ranked players are facing financial difficulties because most of them can't go even a month without competing and earning money. The suspension will last until at least early-August.