Most players struggling to break even
PARIS: Fifty years ago this spring, Fred Stolle of Australia won the French International Tennis Championship by defeating his countryman Tony Roche in the final. Stolle and Roy Emerson, another Aussie, won the doubles crown as well.
For capturing both titles, Stolle’s total purse — if it can be called one — was a modest sum.
“Six hundred francs,” he said last week, referring to the 1965 equivalent of about US$100. Soon it was gone. “Took the boys to the Lido that night, got drunk,” he said.
Asked how he could live on 600 francs, Stolle quipped: “I didn’t; I drank it.”
Last week, as he gazed down on Philippe Chatrier Court from a television commentary booth, Stolle sat amid a longsimmering debate over fair compensation for players, especially those outside the top 100.
Late last year, a major international study concluded that players must earn a minimum of $160,000 a year in prize money merely to break even (factoring in salaries and travel expenses for their coaches).
Of more than 2,000 active players, fewer than 250 men and women earn the minimum, according to two Australian researchers.
Now, however, the prize money gap is narrowing. Organisers at the French and the Australian championships have boosted purses significantly.
Last week, Irina Falconi of the United States, ranked 85th in the world, earned $94,500 for losing in the third round at Roland Garros.
The rising payouts were received with a touch of wistfulness by one retired player.
“They won the battle, which we fought for, what, 20, 30 years ago,” said Sophie Amiach, 51, a top French player who competed for nearly 15 years. In 1984, she earned $10,000 by reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.
Now she earns a living as a travel and wine consultant and as a French Open television commentator who regularly shares the Chatrier booth with Stolle.
Amiach declined to criticise the vast prize earnings by top players, mentioning a report that Novak Djokovic’s career earnings were nearing $80 million. These large sums demonstrate the sport’s importance to spectators, she said.
But hundreds of players outside the top 100 still are playing just to make ends meet.
Marius Copil, 24, of Romania, who is ranked 202nd, offered a solution.
“I think maybe the players that are in the Grand Slam already in the main draw, they should have $50,000 for the first-round loss,” he said.
“You need that money to be safe for a year,” he said. Last month, Copil lost in the final qualifying round at Roland Garros, earning a modest $13,300.
With the $50,000 first-round paycheck at all four championships, he said, “You can hire a coach, pay their expenses, and you can say that you can travel one year.”
“This can improve your game and let you be a little bit loose on the court,” he said.
On a budget that would not be so tight.