Belgian Bergs aces ATP s Carbon Tracker says climate bigger than sport

LONDON - Belgian tennis player Zizou Bergs is on the rise and could soon be ranked in the worlds top 50, but jet-setting around the planet pursuing his career throws up an awkward conundrum.

Bergs, 25, cares passionately about sustainability and the planet but such is the global nature of the ATP Tour that he has little choice but to fly.

ATP Tour players racked up an average of 122,000km in 2023 and while Bergs accepts air miles are part of the job, he is playing his part in the ATP Tours pledge of a 50% reduction in emissions by 2030, even if it means some extra chores.

I wear my shirts for at least 20 or 30 washes, and you sweat a lot so thats a lot of washes, Bergs told Reuters when asked about the perception that top players, who receive copious supplies of sponsored apparel, wear their kit once and bin it.

I recycle my clothes too. I have this project going on in Burundi for more than five years. Every year I send at least one time a big package of clothes and tennis rackets.

It is the sort of attitude that helped Bergs top the 2024 standings for the ATP Tours Carbon Tracker -- an award-winning sustainability app enabling players to track and mitigate their travel emissions on Tour.

The app helps players make conscious travel decisions and purchase verified carbon credits to support climate projects and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Along with Italian Francesco Passaro and American Ben Shelton, Bergs received a share of a $100,000 prize grant to donate to his chosen projects Tous a Bord, Moore Foundation, and Tennis Vlaanderen.

Bergs said that playing mainly on the lower ATP Challenger Tour in 2024 allowed him to stay closer to home. But