Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, Anabel Medina Garrigues, Arantxa Parra Sontonja, Carla Suarez Navarro, Nuria Llogostera Vives and Lourdes Dominguez Lino are refusing to play the first round of 2011 Fed Cup competition against Estonia because of the “lack of support, communication and enthusiasm” of the Spanish Tennis Federation.
Last year, the Federation agreed to improve conditions for women’s tennis, including better medical care, more hard court surfaces and greater support for Spanish tournaments, but nothing has changed so far and the women feel forced to boycott playing for their country. A reduction in prize money is also something they are protesting against.
Update: the Spanish Tennis Federation has promised to take action and said that lack of support was due to the economic crisis.
