An expensive path to tennis glory
BUSINESS OF SPORT Beyond the shine of Grand Slams, it is not easy to sustain a career path in the game
sidering a few facts about the business of tennis.
At any point there are about 1,500 players active on the ATP list. The first step for a youngster is to get into this ATP computer list to ‘be in the game’. But given how the prize money numbers drop off beyond Grand Slams and ATP Masters, to make a career that is sustainable purely as a singles tennis pro, the aim has to be to finish in top-50 regularly. That, however, is no easy task.
Consider the case of Somdev Devvarman. His career panned out differently than what he had hoped. Playing through multiple injuries and indifferent form, his highest career ranking by the time he retired in 2017 was a disappointing 62 with no career singles titles and $1.4 million in earnings to show for a career spanning nine years.
Leander Paes is one of the greatest sporting legends India has ever had. Paes’ highest ranking in singles was 73 which he achieved in 1998 when he was 25. The fact that he is worth almost $9 million in prize money today (he is 45) owes much to the fact that he realised very early that he would not be able to make it as a singles player and switched to what would turn out to be a magnificent doubles career. The very next year he reached No 1 in doubles and over the next two decades would win 18 Grand Slam doubles titles. If doubles paid as much as singles Leander would have earned north of $50 million.
So what does it take to be a top-50 player besides of course talent, dedication and training?
Travel cost of a professional player on the circuit is typically between $50,000 and $150,000 per person depending on which events are played, where they’re located etc. Food costs a further $5,000-$30,000 per person per year. Professional coaches start at the $50,000 per year range. At the top level coaches are often paid a percentage of the player’s earnings (10-15% rather than a
Total prize money on offer at ATP tournaments (500 and above) equivalent to $1,494,540 Coaching
Runner-up Semi-final losers Quarter-final losers 4th round losers 3rd round losers 2nd round losers 1st round losers fixed amount) so the cost of employing one may be as high as $1-1.5 million for the top few players. Most fall somewhere in between. This doesn’t include additional costs elite players pay out for trainers, physios, additional coaching, etc. While most on the circuit at this level at least get their racquets free, it costs between $5,000-$40,000 a year for private stringing and customisation. Then there are other expenses like ground transportation within the destination cities and transfers, tournament penalty fees, fines, clothing and additional equipment for non-spon- sored players, medical expenses and massage.
So a top-50 player, to maintain their place in the rankings will have annual expenses anywhere between $175,000-$2,000,000 with most in the $200,000 - $500,000 range. An appreciation of those numbers is crucial in under- standing the challenges that face tennis aspirants. While there are no guarantees in life, it is only a happy marriage of two factors — talent and deep parental pockets that lights up the path to success in the business of tennis.
Food Travel
Trainers, Physios etc Others