If you’re the 350th best man in tennis, you’re probably either falling into debt or getting help from a sponsor or parent.” The prize money and expenses are likely better today than they were in 2013 for players (prize money has increased for all players at ATP and Grand Slam events), but probably not substantially and the various governing organizations in the sport of tennis (there are many) still have quite a bit of improvement to make before tennis becomes less of a gamble and more of a real career option for young athletes considering what sport to play. “the ITF calculated the breakeven ranking as #330 for men in North America (i.e., where cost equals prize money, excluding coaching) and the top 50 (top 1%) of ranked players earned 60% of the total $162 million men’s prize pool”įiveThirtyEight put this into context perfectly, saying “if you’re the 350th best man in the world at baseball, basketball, American football, ice hockey or soccer, you’re earning more than $500,000 each year, expenses paid. Up to, and slightly past this point, the main sources of income are side jobs, independent funding, and any creative source players can come up with. In a 2013 ITF survey, the ITF calculated the breakeven ranking as #330 for men in North America (i.e., where cost equals prize money, excluding coaching) and the top 50 (top 1%) of ranked players earned 60% of the total $162 million men’s prize pool. The lowest thousand spots aren’t thinking profit, they want out of the doghouse, even with maximum cost cutting (four to a hotel room, no team, cheap food, etc.). Even the most successful players, who shoot up the rankings, suffer months - sometimes years - of financial loss, even while winning. If a tennis player doesn’t win, they don’t make money. When tennis players go pro, they do it on their own dime. No Arena League if things don’t work out. There are no contracts for having potential. Turning pro in tennis is unlike any other sport.
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