The governing bodies of world tennis have clubbed together to raise more than $6million (€5.53million) for players left short by the coronavirus pandemic. 

Professional tennis across the world is currently suspended until July 13.

Serena Williams and her coach Patrick Mouratoglou recently wrote a letter highlighting the plight of players outside the top 100.

Without tournaments to play many are left without regular income.

There have been a number of fundraising initiatives already, not least of which saw Mouratoglou team up with Stefano Tsitsipas to create Beyond 100 Support.

However, the Player Relief Programme has seen the sport's main stakeholders flex their financial muscle for those in the game most in need.

The ATP, WTA, the four Grand Slam tournaments - the Australian Open, Roland-Garros, The Championships, Wimbledon and the US Open – and the International Tennis Federation have all come together for this initiative.

Contributions will be split equally between women and men and will, "target a total of approximately 800 ATP/WTA singles and doubles players collectively, in need of financial support."

On top of a general suspension of play, this year's Wimbledon has been cancelled while the French Open at Roland-Garros has been postponed until September 20.

The US Open is still slated to get underway on August 24, however it's thought the New York slam could move to Indian Wells for the year.

A statement says: "Eligibility for the Player Relief Programme will take into account a player’s ranking as well as previous prize money earnings according to criteria agreed by all stakeholders."

They add, "We will continue to collaborate and monitor the support required across tennis with the aim of ensuring the long-term health of the sport in the midst of this unprecedented challenge to our way of life, and our thoughts remain with all those affected at this time."