"Reflections On Haiti"
Posted 3/09/10

I am expressing my thoughts and my pain in front of this tragedy and destruction that hit Haiti, but I would say that the reality is this powerful earthquake just finished the "JOB" for this haitian population that have been living in poverty for a few decades now.
I want to thank of course the international community for its efforts without forgetting all the haitians that have done something to help the victims. A wave of solidarity unheard of in the history of Haiti and the world that only a 7.3 earthquake on the Richter scale and close to 200,000 dead was able to trigger.

Celebrities, Politicians, Activists, Humanitarians, Soldiers, Opportunists, you name it, for the first time since the independence of the country in 1804, the whole world jumped in, in a powerful manner. Many could see the courage and the pride of the haitian people in the most suffering pain imaginable. They have been fighting death everyday since the earthquake hit on January 12, 2010 and for most of them, it is just the extension of a life that has not spared them of the most difficult conditions.

At a rate of $1 to $3 per day for income, many haitians have been dying of hunger, lack of medicine, and/or treatments and these terrible conditions have created more deaths over decades than the earthquake itself in a total national and international indifference. We all got accustomed to it. For the first time, everything has changed, because the Medias of the entire world are doing an incredible and unprecedented coverage. The images on TV are painful to watch, but the the latest hurricanes that hit Haiti were also painful to watch as a lot of innocent people died and destruction occurred and they (the hurricanes) failed to trigger that kind of media attention, coverage, and help from the international community.

Despite all of the destruction by the earthquake, I sometimes ask myself if the hand of God is not behind this. Was He the one that decided that this was time to put an end to the pain and suffering of the haitian people for the past decades in such a destructive way? For the first time, the pain has been shared by all social classes in Haiti. The earthquake was blind to who was rich or who was poor. It was equal. Is the destruction of Haiti by the earthquake the end of corruption, political instability, inequality, and poverty?

The haitian people need to have a conscience along with the international community. Is the world aware that $197 Million that was given by the international community for the victims of the hurricane a couple years ago have totally disappeared? The United States of America, the most powerful country in the world and also located within one hour from Haiti has a moral duty and obligation towards Haiti. Why have the former US leaders supported such corruption and poverty within one hour of its shores during all those years? France has a cultural commitment and obligation to wards Haiti that they need to keep in order to eradicate Haiti's poverty. The Caribbean countries should also help in the economic development of Haiti and the super powers have a moral obligation to help Haiti and the countries suffering of poverty and hunger.

I gave my heart and my soul to Haiti during my 19 year professional tennis career, representing the Red and Black Flag first, then the Blue and Red on all the tennis courts throughout the world, beating the greatest players in the world such as Jimmy Connors, Andre Agassi, Yannick Noah, Mats Wilander and Guillermo Vilas just to name a few, and I can tell you that in the tennis tournaments, the question was not how good was I, but how is it possible that a haitian can beat the best players in the world?

I got my share of questions during my career such as "You are Haitian? …You must be a lucky one then". Unfortunately, the definition of a haitian is "poverty", that the media around the world has projected and the leaders of Haiti for the past decade have done nothing significant to give a better image of the country and the haitian people.Today, and despite the hurdles that I faced during my career representing Haiti, I will keep saying that I am proud to have represented Haiti. I was its Ambassador without the official title, except in 1989 when my father Frederic, Minister of Agriculture in Haiti , pushed to have me nominated Honorary Consul of Haiti in Bordeaux. Unfortunately the political instability in Haiti did not give my father, who had worked at the United Nations for more than 20 years, the opportunity to serve more than a year in office. My father served under General Prosper Avril who was replaced by General Cedras, a strong enemy of Aristide (who was elected afterwards)

I have always thought that because of my father's short political past, I could be in danger in Haiti and that my moves were going to be carefully monitored. For a long time I have said to myself, "I am just a tennis player who made it to the top" and I have nothing to do with politics. I was wrong. Being a national and international professional athlete from Haiti is a diplomatic mission in itself and I understood that when I won the Gold Medal at the Central American Games in Cuba in 1982. Sports in Haiti is Politics and is so in most of small third world countries like Haiti.

I was promised a diplomatic passport by the government in 1998 and up until today, I still have not received it. I always ask myself why? Because of my father, Frederic who was indirectly not in favor of Aristide? Was there a fear from the haitian government of me pursuing a political career like my father? All I know is I begin to get signs that they would open a little door to me instead of the big one. The world was able to notice what happened after Aristide took over and the road of perdition that was taken. Like I said earlier, the earthquake just finished the job.

I have been wanting to serve my country other than just holding a haitian flag around the world in the tennis arenas, but since 1998 it has been impossible to penetrate the system put in place whether it is sports or politics. What a shame. Is it because of money? Power? Pride? Race?
The race issue is also a big problem in Haiti like anywhere else in the world and it needs to be addressed during the reconstruction and the future of the new Haiti. I am considered a "Mulatto" which is by definition the offspring of a black and white parent. Both of my parents were born in Haiti. My father being of haitian decent and my mother being of lebanese decent.

My mother once told me, after my Dad passed away, as I was looking at a picture taken years before of my parents at an official government ceremony at the Presidential Palace , "Your Dad will never be the President of Haiti because of me!" I replied, "What?" She then said, "Look, I am the only person with white skin and this is a problem". This was one of the most shocking moments of my life. I never thought this was an issue. To me you are either qualified to lead a country or not, regardless of the color of your skin. After hearing my mother's statement, I started doing all kinds of research and for the first time, I realized what Haiti was all about. This was a big wake up call for me.

Today, I can say that the battle of Haiti has begun as Haiti, despite the chaos, is a door opened to future economic growth for the people and countries that will bring their dollars to invest. The road to prosperity will be narrow and long and quick steps need to be taken in order to avoid stagnation, as diseases can spread at bullet speed.

It is difficult to know and understand the situation in Haiti as presidential elections were scheduled at the end of the year 2010. Who will be the next President? Backed by what country? France? USA? European Union? Chavez and the Socialist movement in South America?

As much as I love Haiti, can we stop using creole and make English, French, and Spanish the primary languages in all future school programs? Is using the creole as a main language in Haiti a necessity or a pride and cultural thing? If Haiti is seeking international investors, don't you think it is best for the haitian people to have total control over the languages to make it easier to communicate? What other country and people in the Americas speak anything else other than English, Spanish, and French? I am sure the conservative haitians may be outraged about my comments, but let's face the reality, there is no time for cultural nostalgia when business should be the top priority for all haitians. Learning English in Haiti will also facilitate the transition when haitians are seeking scholarships and jobs in the US, something other caribbean nations have already done and understand.

The people of Haiti are resilient and have so much to offer. I will keep speaking and writing my thoughts as they come with the only goal of sharing ideas and experiences that can help Haiti get back on its feet for a brighter future where children can play sports and not suffer of malnutrition. A country where all haitians are given the opportunity to do business equally, and where people can express their political views without their lives being threatened.

Ronald Agénor

"The Dirty Business of Wildcards on the Professional Tennis Tour"
Posted 7/15/07

Many of you still remember the fabulous victory of Croatian Goran Ivanisevic at Wimbledon in 2001, but many of you probably never paid attention to the fact that he got in the main draw of the event through a "Wildcard". In fact he made history by being the first player ever to win Wimbledon as a wildcard. A "Wildcard" in tennis is a special "Invitation" to participate in a tournament offered to a player by a Tournament.

Goran might be a bad example because he has already been a finalist 3 times at Wimbledon prior to his victory in 2001, but his story illustrates how he was given this unique opportunity to win the Championship by the organizers of the tournament. What about if wildcards never existed?..... Then he could not have played......Then there would be no win for Goran in 2001 at Wimbledon. For several years now, wildcards have been traded, given, or sold by tournament organizers, sponsors, federations, or managemen t companies. With the constant increase of control of professional tournaments by management companies, the face of International Tennis has completely changed.

I certainly never played my best tennis at Wimbledon, but even if Goran Ivanisevic had a more successful career than me, I still think that I also deserved a wildcard in the main draw of Wimbledon. After all, the majority of wildcards given every year at Wimbledon are going to players that were not ever former top players in the world like me- some even with no ranking at all. "With the constant increase of control of professional tournaments by management companies, the face of Professional Tennis has completely changed".

In 1998, I requested a wildcard for a main draw or qualifying draw and it was denied. The worst part was not the "no", but the explanation. "No explanation". I thought my request was legitimate. After all, I had been in the top 50 for almost 10 years prior to 1998, made some solid Grand Slam appearances (quarter finals at the French Open in 89') and I was attempting a comeback in the game at 33 years of age with a ranking of 300 in the world. I did not have a chance...... they did not give me a chance to participate that year not even in the qualifying draw. Sorry. Exit. Done. After their response, I was trying to convince myself that after all, I never performed well at Wimbledon(my last decent appearance was in 1993 losing in the second round against Jim Courier who later on reached the final) and I also never lived there. So, it was probably the reason why they said "no". Wait a minute- right after I made this short analysis about the reason why I did not get the wild card in Wimbledon, I realized that my statement was a very naive one!

I realized that very same year I had made the same wildcard request at the French Open and I got the same response-"no". I got an explanation this time from the French Tennis Federation that "All wildcards are given to French Players". The irony was that this time I had been living in France for more than 15 years and I did play well at the French (quarter finals in 1989 and fourth round in 1988). No, I was not French and I had kept my Haitian citizenship throughout my career, but Haiti is a former French Colony and a French speaking country, so one could say that there are cultural ties right there to give you a wildcard, but no, unfortunately the cultural ties analysis did not seem to work. The Australian Open was another disappointment as I flew to Melbourne "Down Under" in 1998 ranked #540 in the ATP rankings. Every year the cut-off was well above #500 so I thought it would be no problem for me to get in. When the draw came out for the qualies I could not see my name. I was out by 3 spots, the cut-off being #520.

The Grand Slam wildcard policy is just a little part of the "Dirty Business" that is done on the professional tennis tour.

The US Open in 1999 was what you could call "Bad Luck" as I missed the main draw cut-off by one week with my own ranking. Every Tour Event and Grand Slams uses the player's ranking six weeks prior to the tournament. My ranking was #112 and could not get in the main draw as the cut-off was #105, but the following week I was ranked #102, a ranking that would have given me direct acceptance in the main draw. The United States Tennis Association told me that "I can always apply for a main draw wild card", but you can use your imagination to figure out that this meant "No Wild Card".

One last thought was my age. I thought maybe I was too old to request a wildcard, but at the same time, I remember not getting any wildcard anywhere even when I finished number 8 in the world Junior rankings. I also recall Patrick McEnroe being offered a wildcard at the US Open at the age of 33, but he declined it. Overall, I recall getting two wildcards in my 19 year career. My first ever wildcard was in 1995, in an ATP Tour event in Bordeaux, France where I lived. The second one was in the qualifying draw of Coral Springs in 1998 where I did qualify.

The main business of tennis revolves around the four Grand Slams that are hosted by the United States, England, France, and Australia. All four countries are also the top leaders of the economy of the world, so when it comes to Grand Slam wildcards, two things comes into place, such as your Citizenship and/or your star status in the tournament.

Unfortunately, there is no such a thing as a "Player's Association" like in the NBA

The new trend in the Grand Slams nowadays is what I call "Wildcard Swap", something similar to the successfull American TV Show "Wife Swap". Australia has been swapping wildcards with USA and France, and France has been swapping wildcards with England and Australia. You can see how beneficial this wildcard swap has been to the French player who got in the draw thru a wilcard and reached the fourth round at Wimbledon this year.
"The ITF (International Tennis Federation) should definitely change its name as it really only represents the four countries I mentioned above. The Grand Slams are the places where a player makes his name and fame and also where the big money is. The ITF should have a wildcard event that includes ALL of the participating countries in its federation and give an opportunity to EVERY professional player from EVERY country in the world a chance to earn a Grand Slam wildcard. Period.

The Grand Slam wildcard policy is just a little part of the "dirty business " that is done on the professional tennis tour. In 1998, I requested a wildcard at the Ericsson Masters Series Event of Miami (now the Nasdaq). I received yet another negative response. My ranking would not even allow me to get in the qualifying draw at that time and my only option was to compete in the pre-qualifying draw composed of 128 players and the winner would receive a wildcard into the qualifying draw. At 34 years old, I calculated that it would take me to win seven matches in the pre qualifying and then two more to access the main draw of the tournament. Guess what? I won the pre-qualifying draw and I won my 2 rounds in the qualifying draw. It took me to win 9 matches in one week to get in this damn draw. By the time I got into the main draw and played my first round, my knee gave out and it was on one leg that I played and lost my first round.

"One solution to this big problem is to ban main draw wildcards from Professional Tennis"

A sad example was the story of one American player. In 1998, he became the first qualifier to reach the quarter finals of the Ericsson in Miami. In 1999, his ranking would not allow him to get in the main draw, so he requested a wildcard that was denied to him. He had a lot of points to defend and the pressure to compete in the qualifying draw after his request was too much. He lost in the first round, lost more than a 100 points and dropped significantly in the rankings. He never recovered and ended his career not too long after.
For the last 10-15 years, management companies have owned the majority of the tour level tournaments on the Tour, therefore, when it comes to wildcards, they will of course give priority to the players they are representing. So, to get a piece of the pie, you better make sure that you are represented by the ones that own those tournaments. Unfortunately, there is no such a th ing as a "Player's Association" like in the NBA, so the professional tennis players are dependant on the body ruling the game.

This year the ATP (the ruling body of Men's Professional Tennis) has ruled the sell of wildcards by tournament directors illegal. Many lower ranked players have been buying wildcards in challenger events to benefit from the automatic 1 point credit that guarantees a world ranking (in 2007 the ATP decided to erase the 1 point credit in the first round in challenger tournaments). They made this decision after unofficially allowing it for more than 12 years. With one point today your world ranking could be around 1500 and could help you be accepted in a lot of professional tournaments.
Fair enough, some players don't really deserve to be ranked in the world and they are buying their ranking, but my point is this, if you are going to prevent a tournament director to sell a wild card to make extra money to support his event or prevent a player to buy 1 or 2 ATP points in the lower level tournaments, then you should prevent the management companies (who own those tournaments) to give wildcards to the players they represent.

As you can see, whether it is the Grand Slam ruled by the ITF or the Tour Events ruled by the ATP (I do not know what is going on with the WTA Tour wildcard Policy) the problems are the same and the system is unfair and unethical. The wildcard policy in the United States is even more complicated and very different than any other country in the world just because of the diversity of races that are representing the United States in tennis. You have African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Latino-Americans, European-Americans, Middle Eastern-Americans, and Caribbean-Americans that are professional tennis players representing the United States. Some born in the US and some not. To me, this adds the race card to the picture. So, on top of all of the problems of regulating wildcards, you can tell that with so many different races representing the same country, the wildcards can be decided not only by ranking, age, and star status, but also by race.

Nobody has been really trying to speak out and find a solution to this problem that has prevented many of young talents around the world to make it in tennis and it has simply destroyed and ended some other's careers. I personally think that one solution to this big problem is to ban main draw wildcards from Professional Tennis that will include Grand Slams, Tour Events, and Challengers. There is more than 100 countries that are represented in the tennis world and there is only four Grand Slams. Do the math. With eight main draw wild cards per tournament, it is easy to figure out that only 32 players from the four leading economies of the world (USA, France, England, Australia) will have the chance to get a free ride assorted with a paycheck of $20,000 even losing in the first round.

As for me, I am proud to be one of the very few professional tennis players in the world to have successfully reached a world ranking of 22 without being given any wildcards to do it. I achieved my goal of coming back in the top 100 in the world without a main draw wild card as I became at 35 years of age in 1999, the oldest player to reach the top 100 since Jimmy Connors did it in 1991. I got back to the French Open and Wimbledon main draw in 2000 with my own ranking. Unfortunately, it took me 2 1/2 years to comeback from #790 ATP ranking to the top 100 again, but I am sure that if the wild card policy was fair to me, I would have taken much less time to achieve that. Those that have achieved what I have in tennis are never really recognized for it like those that have been given a "free ride" by the famous wildcard.

I hope that the "Dirty Business' of wild cards on the professional tour will come to an end and that a new policy will come into place to make it fair to everybody. It is already tough to compete at the highest level against better and better players everyday, but it is even tougher for certain players when they have to fight against the entire "system"... A