By MARK LORENZANA

The best tennis players in Mexico, led by Santiago González, announced that they will not be part of the Davis Cup team that will face Chinese Taipei next month due to problems with the Mexican Tennis Federation (FMT ).

Through an official joint statement that they posted on various social media channels, the players explained that their decision not to field a team to represent Mexico is due to the lack of planning from the FMT and “interests far removed from sports.”

“After such difficult deliberation for us and several attempts to conduct a dialogue with the Mexican Tennis Federation, no positive conclusion has been reached. Therefore, we have decided not to participate in the next series against the Chinese Taipei team on February 4 and 5 at Metepec, State of Mexico,” said the players in an official statement addressed to the media and the Mexican tennis community.

“The lack of communication, zero planning with the team and lack of interest in looking for the best playing conditions, show that the situation has not been handled correctly and personal interests have taken priority over sports interests,” the statement read.

According to the letter, the International Tennis Federation is aware of the decision of Mexican tennis players Ernesto Escobedo, Lucas Gomez, Santiago Gonzalez, Hans Hach, Alejandro Hernandez, Gerardo Lopez, Miguel Reyes-Varela and Manuel Sanchez.

“It is sad that the FMT does not have the minimum standards in dealing and planning with the best national representatives,” said the letter.

This is not the first time that Mexican tennis players have refused to join the Davis Cup due to problems with the FMT. The federation, chaired by Carlos González López, has yet to comment on the official statement released by the players.

González, considered one of the best doubles players in Mexican tennis history, is currently ranked number 25 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in the doubles category.