ATP star slammed for ‘disparaging his country’ ahead of calamitous Davis Cup trip
Tallon Griekspoor has come under fire from fellow Dutch player Jesper de Jong over his criticism of Dutch tennis and the Royal Dutch Tennis Association (KNLTB) with the world No 80 slamming his compatriot over the timing of his recent comments.
World No 27 Griekspoor made himself unavailable for selection for the Dutch team’s Davis Cup match against India last week as he criticised KNLTB director Jacco Eltingh in the process, stating in an interview with Nu.nl: “If we point things out and the federation says, ‘We agree with you,’ but a week later, the opposite is done, then it’s over.
“They’re not listening to the top players. There’s no plan, no communication from the federation. What role do I still have in the Dutch team?”
The 29-year-old added: “I find it unbelievable that Jacco Eltingh, as director, is rarely present at the national training centre in Amstelveen. And Paul Haarhuis, as captain, works part-time for the Royal Dutch Tennis Association (KNLTB)? That’s unacceptable if you want to advance as a tennis nation; it’s so amateurish.”
Despite the comments, he insisted that he had a good relationship with Haarhuis, saying: “But there are also people above him. Does Paul have the final say with the federation? I don’t know.”
The Netherlands, who finished runners-up to Italy in the Davis Cup Finals in 2024, was stunned 3-2 by India and Griekspoor’s comments certainly left a mark on those who represented their country.
Tennis News
Rafael Nadal makes ‘it’s done’ comment on Novak Djokovic’s hopes of 25th Grand Slam
‘It’s recency bias to say Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are better than Djokovic, Nadal, Federer’
De Jong was one of those who travelled to Bengaluru and he was unimpressed, saying: “If we were at the opening ceremony [in India] and we got an article like that in our face, that’s absolutely not nice.
“He wasn’t there, but he was there anyway…”
The world No 86 added: “It’s not that I’m pro-KNLTB, because a lot of things need to change, as Tallon also says. I agree, but nobody’s perfect. If you finish second in the world in the Davis Cup in 2024, I might be wrong, but then things will have gone well.”
For now, there are no plans to hold talks with Griekspoor, but De Jong says he “doesn’t want a fight”.
“I don’t speak to Tallon anyway,” he said before adding: “There also needs to be a conversation between him and the team, because there [with the Davis Cup team] the matter isn’t resolved yet.
“I certainly don’t want a fight, but I would have handled it my own way. Mistakes are made everywhere, but I don’t think you should disparage your country.”
