Drozyna hits Polish sport. “600 percent raise, 170 zlotys per hour. Who can afford?”

– Since October, our gas price has increased by 603 percent. Gas is our source of heat, we use it to power furnaces. Last year, we paid about PLN 40,000 per month. zlotys for gas. Now the bills will be much higher. We are not able to stay afloat – says Radosław Szymanik, president of the Arka Gdynia Tennis Club, former captain of the Polish national team in the Davis Cup, in an interview with Sport.pl.

Dizzying prices

The Gdynia club has, among others two multi-court tents and one balloon. Szymanik, together with the presidents of other clubs from the Tri-City, is preparing a letter to PGNiG. – We explain that we are enterprises that train children. We cannot pass these costs on to customers because no one will come. Who in Poland can afford to spend, for example, PLN 170 for an hour of playing tennis for a child? We would have to propose such prices to break even. Since the beginning of the year, we have raised prices by 10 percent, but this is only a small drop in the ocean of needs – our interlocutor points out.

Customers are unable to pay more. – The parents of young tennis players also have their obligations, their home budgets are not made of rubber. The high prices are attacking them from all sides, and if we raised our prices even more, we would lose a lot of customers. We do not want to lose them – assures Szymanik.

Foggy future

The president of Arka predicts that many clubs may be forced to temporarily close or go into debt. A similar situation takes place, for example, in Warsaw. – Warszawianka tennis club during the holiday season sent an e-mail to customers that the facility will be closed for two weeks because they are in bankruptcy, said Szymanik.

– The main part of our activity is learning to play tennis for children. For some it is a chance for development and a future career, for others it is an ideal opportunity to exercise that strengthens health – our interlocutor points out. And he is concerned about one more scenario: “If nothing changes, some clubs will raise their stakes so much that tennis, as a sport that was supposed to be for everyone, will again become very elitist, for a narrow audience. Polish tennis is going through a golden age “.

There will be no successors?

Polish tennis has not achieved such great success for a long time as it has been in recent years. Iga ¦wi ± tek and Hubert Hurkacz are in the top “10” of tennis rankings. They are successful in Grand Slam tournaments and in the most prestigious WTA and ATP events. Most importantly – both and they are still young. They can be among the world’s best for many years. They are role models for the youngest. – Their successes may not give us successors, because the high prices will stop the development of subsequent generations – ends Szymanik.