Spanish tennis federation gets new chief

MADRID: Fernando Fernández-Ladreda has been named as the new president of the Spanish Tennis Federation replacing José Luis Escanuelas who stood down over mis-management charges.
“My first objective is to restore normalcy on both the institutional and sporting fronts,” Fernández-Ladreda said in a statement late Thursday.
“To achieve this I will seek the help of everyone within the communuity of our beloved sport to enable us to get out of the difficult situation we presently find ourselves in and to maintain Spanish tennis as a reference on the international level.”
The appointment came swiftly after Escanuelas agreed to stand down from the position following his one-month suspension by the Spanish government’s disciplinary committee for sports for failing to collaborate in a probe into the organisation’s finances.
His management style was also blasted by Spanish tennis aces, including Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer, in a damming open letter.
The players blasted “the lack of transparency” in the distribution of the federation’s revenues in a seven-point statement which was penned in London on the eve of the start of Wimbledon on Monday.
They also hit out at “the chaotic and belligerent leadership of Escanuela, which has led to his suspension, putting his personal interests ahead of the sport and deteriorating the image of tennis with his actions.”
A total of 44 current and former players and technical staff put their name on the letter which asked the “competent authorities” to take swift action to remedy the situation.
Fernando Verdasco, Feliciano Lopez and Nicolas Almagro were among the other top players who signed the letter.