Croat Marin Cilic, on Thursday, acknowledged that there were issues with regard to players’ payment during the International Premier Tennis League, which shut down last year due to financial crunch.
India veteran Mahesh Bhupathi had launched the League in 2014 on the lines of cricket’s franchise-based Indian Premier League. It began with four teams with bases in India, Dubai, Singapore and Manila.
Japan was added in the 2015 season but in 2016, the tournament was back to its original four-team format with Manila backing out, reportedly, because the League did not fulfil its financial obligations.
The League was not played in 2017 as Singapore Slammers complained of payment issues. Cilic, who was part of the UAE Royals team in the 2015 edition, did not elaborate much but acknowledged that the money indeed was an issue.
“There were some issues, just bad thing that it happened like that for a event so successful. I think all things will clear up. Looking overall, it’s very positive for Asian cities where there was not much tennis. Best players in the world came and played tennis. That was great to see and fan reaction was very nice,” Cilic said, after he made it to the quarter-finals of the Tata Open Maharashtra.
Bhupathi’s comment was sought on the issue when he came to watch Sumit Nagal’s match on Tuesday but he refused to speak on the issue.