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 world's 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 Tour's pledge of a 50 per cent 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 that's 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 Tour's 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 things have become more difficult with his ranking now at a career-high 56.

He began this year in Hong Kong then moved on to Auckland, then Melbourne for the Australian Open, before a Davis Cup tie back in Belgium and then out to Doha and Dubai.

Bergs said it will be easier when he's back on the European swing and can travel by train and car.

EXTREME CONDITIONS

He said that while there is work to do with regards to scheduling, the ATP Tour is focussed on reducing its footprint from travel, which makes up 90 per cent of its emissions.

"That is something you cannot skip on," Bergs said. "I'm glad the ATP is helping us, not only having this carbon tracker, but also making us learn and be more aware. Like for example, cotton clothes, less than 1 per cent gets recycled. That's crazy.

"I think the schedule can be done better in the sense of programming, and in other sports as well. In reality, there are a lot of circumstances that are not that easy."

A heating planet could have grave implications for sport and Bergs says Tour veterans talk of conditions becoming more extreme.

"Climate change is a problem for the world and if it's a problem for the world it's going to be a problem for tennis, he said. "Obviously, from the tennis side, we have to always improve, optimize everything we can. And I definitely think the scheduling geographically is a big topic."

The first year of the Carbon Tracker in 2023 had more than 200 players engage, with 6.55 million kilometres tracked. A new version with advanced features has been launched for 2025.

Bergs offset the emissions of all 30 tournaments he played in 2024 and said he was eager to continue the journey.

"For me, using Carbon Tracker was about making my time on Tour count for something bigger than tennis," he said. "A lot of players are using the platform well, a lot could be better. I always like not to talk too much, but lead by example."