Tennis: the players struggling to break even | FT Scoreboard

Tennis champions Novak Djokovic and Naomi Osaka are among the best paid athletes in the world. But prize money drops off steeply, with lower-ranked players often struggling to make a living amid the expense of travel and coaching. The FT talks to governing bodies in what is a fragmented sport and follows two players fighting to get to the top and get paid
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[@joesinclair6191]

A lot of people here are commenting on the issue of equal prize money between men and women. But this video is mostly about the question of spreading wealth to the lower ranking players, who sometimes struggle to make a living, regardless of gender. It would be good to hear more views on that, once you've watched the video. Thanks

[@t-bone7988]

But if they're not good enough, they're not good enough.

[@joesinclair6191]

@@t-bone7988 At the end of 2020 Emma Raducanu was ranked 343 in the world. Does that mean she wasn't good enough? The point is that if they can't make a living, maybe you'll never know if they were good enough or not.

[@t-bone7988]

@@joesinclair6191 No it means she was good enough to actually win. Maybe she had an extra boost of funds from people known to her who believed in talent when it was just a matter of time for her breakthrough. Which is what happened. I feel for the other lower ranked player if financial support really is there issue then. If you're good enough you'll make it eventually and get paid for it. Look at Duckworth, struggled year after year with the same injury and finally made his breakthrough this year top 50!

[@ltrotter636]

@@t-bone7988 They're all good enough or else they wouldn't be among the best in the world (not just their country, but the world!). Once players can compete at the professional level they should be making a living. Numerically, you can only have so many people in the top 20, top 100, etc. at a time. Other professional teams have players who mostly ride the bench but manage to make a good living. They don't make the same money as the superstar players, but should you have to be a superstar to make a living in your profession? I think being really good at what you do (for them, being among the best in the world) should be enough. The tennis associations (the seven stakeholders mentioned) should do better for these players. They're not charity cases... they grind to get where they are and should see some of the wealth of the profession.

[@t-bone7988]

@@ltrotter636 Agreed. The governing bodies need to do enough and ensure the lower ranked players can make a living. But try and convince the higher ranked players they should take a cut to fund the lesser talented players lifestyle etc. Tough gig

[@constantinvalidol5472]

Imagine being in top 100 at your profession. People don't realize how much it means until they cross-reference with their own career.

[@PaulFilmer]

They also bring in $0 if they aren't in the top 500.

[@jakemartinez6894]

Constantine Validol That’s like comparing apples to elephants mate… For starters most jobs don’t, and can’t, have rankings for who’s best. Furthermore, there is a stark difference between how very few pro tennis players there are and how many people work in factories around the world for example. Plus there are other factors at play, namely the fact that pro sport is probably the profession with the largest amount of people groomed for the job outside of rich person’s son.

[@larswallin652]

Proffesional sports dont provide anything of value outside entertainment, so its not so strange there are not as many spots to do them professionally. Compared to say nurseing.As that kind of job provides value whether you find it entertaining or not. I would also guess there are more people training to be professionals at most regular jobs then there are people training to be professional tennis players.

[@It-s-me-P]

Tennis is long and thus boring for the majority. Sure some matches as GrandSlam semifinals and finals are cool, but nobody (except maybe some kids that play tennis) would want to watch of player 499 against player 500. And in my case and I think many others not even 25th against 28th. Why do the top players win over and over again? Cause the top 5 is a level higher than 5-10 and the top 10 is 2 levels higher than 10-20. From then on it's maybe more equal, but if you have players that are twice as good as others why watch the others ?

[@spac18]

@@larswallin652 Not at all, sports is all about self improvement and inspiration. Entertainment is the least important part. Just look at Nadal win, it will inspire billions to challenge themselves to fulfill their dreams.

[@CW-rx2js]

This is why people should appreciate Djokovic more for the changes he's trying to bring in for lower ranked players.

[@rhythmpatel5665]

Which changes has he brought? Genuinely asking.

[@XAWoke]

@@rhythmpatel5665 He is rooting for prize money coverage to the lower rank players as well...

[@raiden031]

I wonder how much of his prize money has been donated to lower ranked players

[@rhythmpatel5665]

@@XAWoke I get it, but why were Federer and Nadal opposing him? I'm sure they don't mind lesser price money since money is not an issue for any of them.

[@majorwigsplit7500]

it's exactly why i've advised him to leave all that and just concentrate on his game, collecting the prize money and give a fine f*ck about the lower ranked players. let federer and nadal fight for that, they are much more fair play and altruistic. of course they will.

[@thomasmourre]

I rarely leave comments on KZbin videos but this is a brilliant one with great content. I am a FT reader and love seeing journalists and main actors highlighting issues in sports and arts (not only finance/economy).

[@richardhunter5913]

agreed. and who doesnt like a bit of tennis content

[@EZ7v]

i love WTA, so any video about the girls is a autowatch but this video so good I subbed also 😉

[@joits]

Very smart to include Emma Raducanu in the thumbnail even though she wasn't even mentioned once. I'll admit I only clicked on it because I thought they'd talk about her, or at least mention her.

[@jw-729]

Considering that tennis used to be known as rich people sport, and in some parts of the world, is still is known as such, I'm not surprised that majority of the professional players are struggling to break even.

[@rewrose2838]

Of course, playing a game for a living is a privilege not everyone can afford. No matter how much we try to play make believe, sports don't inherently have any value that translates to money. (and the same goes for any other part of the entertainment industry)

[@RicardoGarza18]

I think it would've been great if you also included Liam's expenses to see how much of a profit a pro tennis player ranked in the top 200 is making per year.

[@ltrotter636]

The tennis association should recognize what they have in these players... they can be extraordinary ambassadors for the sport if they can make enough income. I've attended challenger events and these folks are incredibly talented. Plus, they're super accessible, which is not something you can say of players at the superstar level (and it's understandable). Little kids and their parents can walk right up and have conversations, ask questions, gain insights... it's special. It's what tennis needs, really. So instead of punishing them because they're not in the top "whatever" reward them for their talent by paying them a professional income and encourage them to continue traveling, playing, and talking to fans! That's how you make more people care about the sport and keep current fans engaged!

[@t-bone7988]

this 100%!! But is there much of a talent difference from the challenger vs the ATP tour? Thanasi is still playing challengers due to injuries plaguing his career but he's beaten a few top 10 guys including Roger

[@ltrotter636]

@@t-bone7988 When I say superstar level, I primarily mean rankings not so much talent. At the pro level, they all possess a mastery of technical skills (though everyone can improve on something). For example, when you look at the slams, you don't see a ton of upsets but the threat is always there and the superstar players know it. They do not take lower-ranked players for granted or they may find themselves exiting the tournament early. So, getting to the top... some of it boils down to opportunity and self-belief and the right support system, etc. (and those things coming together at once).

[@t-bone7988]

Agreed, upsets do happen tho and are on the rise

[@rcbrascan]

Tennis is an elitist sport where few minorities are welcome. If your family is rich and your have some talent then the chances of making it is greater than being talented but the family is poor. If you are not successful by your early twenties then you should just forget it and leave the dreams for the younger players.

[@nsebast]

The problem is there are thousands of players at this challenger level all over the world.

[@timw4369]

It's like being an actor. Only the top players make money the rest barely afford to be on the tour

[@claygilchrist632]

That’s a great point. Tennis, just like acting, really doesn’t have much of a middle class.

[@ePlayablez]

Really goes to show how brainless those people are that criticized Djokovic's PTPA (which pushed for more money for lower-ranked players).. They did NO research nor did they have any intention of uncovering the truth about what his actual objectives were and just wanted another way to hate on him. That is very low. I hope that these people can find peace..

[@dt8101]

The PTPA thing Djokovic proposed is just incremental change. Tennis needs a revolution, not an incremental change. Tennis tournaments and Grand Slams hijacks the sports, and there is no pyramid system where the revenue from the top leagues (ATP WTA and GS) can flow down the lower tier leagues (ITF events). The international sport federation for tennis is ITF. WTA and ATP are American business organizations, which don't really care about players ranked outside 300. Grand Slams are organized by the four countries' tennis association and their revenue is not trickle down the ATP/WTA. ATP/WTA are corporations and their revenue is not tricked down to ITF. ITF is broke because their main revenue is Davis and Fed Cup, whose popularity is declining. Tennis is one of the few sports where the top tier league is not organized by the sports' international federations. For example, in football, FIFA organizes World Cup and the revenues are partly shared. There is obviously corruptions in FIFA, but not this fragmentation like in Tennis. Basically GS, ATP/WTA, and ITF are fighting with each other and there is no coherent worldwide youth promotion programme. Grand Slams keep their revenue in their own countries and promote youth programme in their own countries. Grand Slam give a tiny bit of money to ITF in the form of GS Grant, which basically asks ITF to select a few players to help them participate in Grand Slams. The merge of ATP and WTA won't help players who are competing in IFT circuit. PTPA won't help ITF either.

[@simonsiddique]

PTPA will just increase the problem with one more tennis organization and frequent clashes with other ones. As hard as it is for him to swallow, Novak is not Billie Jean king..............

[@strongbrain3128]

​@@dt8101If a sport at a level attracts no audiences who pay to watch it, there should be no financial reward to the players. You earn what you kill. This is true for any professional sports.

[@FF18Cloud]

People have to stop simping their favorite tennis players. Just because you like Djokovic shouldn't cloud your judgement whether the ideas they have are perfect. Serena can say something tomorrow and as much as I like her and look up to her husband, i doubt I'd agree with everything she'd say if, say she says that judging needs to be revamped, etc etc

[@suzygirl1843]

@@FF18Cloud Did you watch King Richard and how they negotiate?

[@merrymachiavelli2041]

It's be interesting to see an analysis of the socio-economic background of Tennis players. I would presume that most Tennis players are bank rolled by family for the majority of their career, although I suppose it's more manageable if you can work part-time, which might be an option for some players.

[@christodang]

+1 I wonder if it’s a chicken or the egg thing. Is the “all or nothing” sponsorship/income model of tennis what fuels that type of behaviour (vs sports like soccer, or basketball) or vice versa?

[@simmerke1111]

@@christodang A big part is likely that it's a single player sport. Guessing teams have an easier time to split costs and streamline management.

[@blognewb]

I believe Djokovic came from a rich family. But not Serena, who grew up very poor. Not Leylah. Not Venus. Not Naomi Osaka. Not Shapovalov. Not Hsieh Su-Wei. Not Felix AA. Not Sharapova. Not Krejcikova… i think if their country has a big middle-class economy, and/or enough non-profit/govt program support, they thrive regardless.

[@mbengaful]

@@blognewb If you're a top talent, sponsors, sports agencies or national federations can take care of you but the majority of the young players rely entirely on their families.

[@Fitness4London]

Most of the top players were coached by their parents, so that's a major cost taken care of!

[@quentincrisp6933]

This subject was covered by the NYT 6 months ago! The '21 U.S. Open Qualifying saw an an increase of 66% across the field in prize money. First round main draw losers in singles rec'd $75K 2nd round $115K in the main draw almost a 20% increase.

[@georgepotter9621]

You have to keep the subject in context. The U.S Open is one of the 4 Grand Slams which makes it one of the top 4 tournaments in the world as far as pay. It also has a draw of 128 while most tournaments have draws of 28 or 56 ( with byes incl ). Those are very difficult to get into unless your ranking is high enough. When you consider travel expenses like airfare and lodging and food it is a tough life unless you are a top 40 player. Team sports can include hundreds of players that make a very nice living while sports such as golf or tennis it's just you, unless you can afford a coach or trainer.

[@quentincrisp6933]

@@georgepotter9621 Show me a draw of 28 or 56. Draws are 32, 64 or 128 no matter if there are byes.

[@georgepotter9621]

@@quentincrisp6933 The gist of the video is how hard it is for players outside the very top ones to make a living. The casual fan who sees a tournament has a 32 or 64 person draw probably ( in most cases ) assumes that is how many players are in the tournament. I was simply pointing out there are less players and therefore fewer people picking up a check when it is over. That is all. Look at the ABN tournament this week, you have the 54th ranked player in the world having to play in the qualies. The guy is the 54th best player and he can't even get direct acceptance into the main draw. It's a tough way to make a living.

[@scrabbleking1965]

Creating fan and media interest outside the four grand slam events would be extremely beneficial. How to achieve this is the real problem that needs to be solved..... During coverage of the grand slams they should promote the all the other local tournaments....

[@dabrocka]

The ATP and WTA should just partner with KZbin. The problem with traditional media is the limitation of air time with streaming problem solved. It's also more accesible to fans, the only thin left is for the $ to make sense

[@MRB96]

That is really interesting

[@seaweed1992]

I would love that! I know a lot of Americans complain that the subscription tennis channel there preference mens matches over women's. Even if it was just the WTA it would help the sport enormously.

[@Sebastian-wz1wh]

They have already, their channels are very popular and get a lot of views

[@TheElloatmatt]

I agree!! The media market in tennis is HORRIBLE.

[@FakeAndTrolled]

Doesn’t only 12% of ATP revenue go to the players, while in the NBA it’s closer to 50%?

[@rishbahpandey8697]

Yup

[@quesee08]

I think because NBA have some of their cost subsidize by their home state. Similar to football and baseball. Tennis maybe not because its individual unlike team sports which represents their home state/city.

[@David-ej1ps]

Where the hell is the rest of the money going? 😲😲

[@HS-ie8tj]

@@David-ej1ps Running the entire event, supporting smaller events financially and paying salaries of everyone involved.

[@aaj3683]

@@David-ej1ps there are lots of people involved in tournaments. For example in 2022 Australian Open, there were 10000 people working behind the scene to make the tournament run efficiently. I imagine it’s a huge payroll. Besides I think Tennis Australia maybe funnel revenue earned from AO to smaller events, junior player development throughout the year.

[@jackdanielss]

The issue is the lack of prizemoney at the challenger and futures level

[@crazycatpetera1404]

Transitioning from Juniors to Seniors in Tennis is brutal because the focus shifts immediately to your weaponry as a player, which is primarily genetics. You can have a really talented Junior, like Liam, who was one of the very best in the world but had a shorter, skinnier physique and once he moved into Seniors, it became clear he didn’t have any big weapons to trouble and pressure his opponents. He has to grind and fight for every single ball which must be EXHAUSTING and he’s barely making a living. He’s been on the pro tour for 14 years now and still hasn’t cracked the top 100.. hopefully he gets a well-deserved breakthrough soon! 🙏🏻

[@lucasnunesdacosta6730]

The situation for players in poorer countries are even Worse. In South america, players tend to only compete in local/ regional tournaments because it is very expensive to play in Europe/ US… obviously currency Issues play a big role on it ( 1 USD ~ 6BRL). This situation contributes to a major problem for Young players in this countries. It is very difficult for a player (specially younger ones) to take a big Step in their carrers id they are not playing good competition, playing different tournaments and Having a decent coaching /training structure. In my opinion, this is one of the main reassons Brazilian players stagnate in the ~100/150 rankings… We have a lot of players that were in the top 5/ top 10 in Junior rankings that are only starting to see progress in atp rankings 6-8 years after becoming pro. Players that were winning Junior grand slams 5 years ago and are Still playing challengers in Bolívia to make a living… It really is a high risk reward carrer

[@andrewpokorny7191]

Crazy to think some players I know by name as a fan (outside of top 100) struggle to make a decent living. Including Liam! Been following for years and watched him a bunch

[@rushrush1209]

It will likely always be tough for anyone ranked from about 200 to 1000. Challenger and satellite tournaments just don't have enough prize money or fan viewership.

[@kennethjohnson4154]

So nice to see that Alicia is now into the Wimbledon mixed doubles quarterfinals after beating Venus Williams and Jamie Murray - I saw this months ago and thought I recognized her name when I saw the scores today!

[@ndk4]

I have few friends who are extremely good when they were young, went pro, spent time in top 200 for about a year max and never to be heard again. Unless you are God inside your semi pro tennis community, or have alot of money to burn, or both, don’t even try..

[@KyleDP]

Great to see Liam Broady playing in the Aus Open

[@marleiserashford396]

Prize money needs to be spread around better. Top players have many sponsors n make a lot of money, prize money should be shared better, so that all players can grow, live, break even or better and challenge the top players

[@Bambotb]

It's not the top players fault...tennis tournament organizers take away 70% of the income and give 30% to everyone else including top players that's the problem

[@manitennis164]

Very true picture of tennis players outside TOP 100. Tough to continue beyond a year or two with the same rankings.

[@tumirantao3677]

Lovely video!

[@MsJubjubbird]

I read something for a project that basically says you need to be in the top fifty or thereabouts to make a comfortable living, given the cost of competing. Many players play doubles just to supplement their income.Of course being in the top fifty people know who you are so you get sponsorship, which is actually where most top players get their income from. Individual sport is also much harder to make a living from than team sports, where you're on a salary and the club covers your expenses and gets sponsorship as a whole

[@ChaunceyDos]

It's pretty arbitrary to use the top 500. Why not top 1500? As far as I know, even the Challengers don't have huge broadcast or sponsorship deals, so where would the money come from? If the top pros are willing to take pay cuts to subsidize tournaments that generate no income and barely attracts a live audience, that's great. It's not the end of the world if they do. But "pro player" is a very broad term. The 500th ranked has never played an ATP level event.

[@varunshahvo-tv9854]

Bro u break even at challengers Futures even club players play

[@strongbrain3128]

If a sport at a level attracts no audiences who pay to watch it, there should be no financial reward to the players. You earn what you kill. This is true for any professional sports.

[@rcbrascan]

@@strongbrain3128 It is not financial at that level, it is for the ranking points so you could qualify for higher tier tournaments.

[@strongbrain3128]

@@rcbrascan the subject is about sharing profits at lower rank levels. But low rank level matches attract no paying audiences, so no income for the players.

[@gsmith7015]

Was interesting to learn how popular hockey and volleyball are

[@kushatwork]

This is an eye-opener as only the prize money for grad slams are available on the internet which gives an impression that it's a lot....

[@mitcho53]

I first watched this video a while back and it was the first time I'd seen or heard of Liam Broady. Now he's advanced to the 3rd round of Wimbledon after upsetting #4 Casper Ruud. Hope he keeps it up!

[@sephjy1370]

same here!

[@Smoothie782]

I think tennis is a growing sport that needs to expand and by tapping into that business side and strategically places new tournaments across the world and you can expand it

[@TennisOnAction]

From winning the local junior tournament to ITF then open tournament before future or challenge to earn prize money is already tough getting an ATP point.

[@johnnybgood1169]

There are at least 2 income opportunities rarely spoken about, and not addressed at all in this video, that are available to elite tennis players, both male and female, who have at least 1 ATP or WTA ranking point: 1. They can participate in Club Tennis/League Tennis at various levels in many western European countries and make decent money, either through a combination of a wage + guaranteed lesson income (lower tier leagues- rankings from 1000-1600ish) or a flat fee (higher tier leagues- rankings inside 1000). 2. They can parlay their ATP/WTA point(s) into college coaching, junior performance training, hitting partner gigs or higher prestige tennis teaching opportunities (head pro or tennis director at private clubs, etc.) all of which can pay quite well, especially in the US.

[@TheStubertos]

Interesting, I didn't know that. But can they do these activities whilst also competing at the highest level? It seems like it would have to be one or the other and I imagine they would rather push to win as much as they can.

[@KeenJT]

Yes, however they can't do that and travel 41 weeks out of the year whilst on the circuit. They need to travel that much to keep in match fitness, keep their points and earn money.

[@davorvidovic8335]

Just for this peace alone,Novak should be praised because he’s trying to get more money for lover ranking players,Novak ☝️👑🎾

[@joseigarmendia]

I love the message from Billy, for young people.....

[@NamesAreRandom]

The reason other sports lower tiers make money is they have a club format - people pay to watch their local football/baseball/etc team even if they play in a lower league. Tennis doesn't have this in a professional level outside perhaps the american college system. If I had some tennis team I supported that included people like Broady then I might go watch the team play because I support the team.

[@strongbrain3128]

Agree. If a sport at a level attracts no audiences who pay to watch it, there should be no financial reward to the players. You earn what you kill. This is true for any professional sports.

[@mosijahi3096]

Hope the governing bodies of tennis are wanting to do something about this .

[@infiniteuniverse9528]

Due to the enormous expenses related to playing tennis full-time, it has remained a privileged class/country club sport which has not been embraced by inner city kids because of it's high cost.

[@akatfun]

this is one of the reason Djokovic is the best, as he constantly voicing for the low ranked players well being. But he is ignored by the establishments.. while the other 2 of the big three play nice to media and not voicing for this(not sure whether they care...).. But still this media portray Djokovic as bad guy!!

[@paulocraice]

Not to mention he spend about 4 millions doing charity and not bragging about it. He doesn’t care about militants faking be journalists.

[@Shankar-Bhaskar]

Complete lie!!

[@donna25871]

Djokovic is a tosser.

[@rchrismeijer3183]

challenger tournaments is a great entrance to break in the atp world tour, but does it attract tv and media?

[@jicalzad]

I thnk one way of improve the big pay gap in pro tennis is possibly getting the top players in the sport talking about it, if they’re willing

[@new2utube541]

If you compare against football, Tennis is clearly less profitable: Stadiums are smaller (less income), TV Broadcast is lower (less income), players don't wear shirts with big sponsors (less income), more miles traveled (more expenses), a higher rate of Coach per Player (more expenses)... And this doesn't consider the difference in gear. In order to make the sport more profitable for players, there has to be a huge turnaround in the business model

[@anesu846]

The problem with tennis is its individual. You can't live off being LeBron teammate. It's justifiable because people will watch. If you're not LeBron teammate, there's only 30 teams and he will definetely 100% be in your building once in the year along with Steph and all the other superstars. With tennis, Novak would have to play 400 games against different people to give them potentially a big payout with ticket and media draw

[@KP-ei9yp]

Team tennis does exist, but needs to be expanded dramatically

[@sauljahboi5965]

It's the same with combat sports where the headliner can make millions and Openers scrounge a few thousand.

[@anesu846]

@@sauljahboi5965 exactly. Only one guy at a time can get red panty night when he fights a headliner. Only so many fight s they can have at a time

[@sephjy1370]

Alicia Barnett was ranked 175 on WTA Doubles when this video was uploaded. Now she is ranked 73! Liam pretty much maintained his rank but he got into Wimbledon recently and even upset World #4 Casper Ruud!

[@jeffhermida4788]

UTR is trying to help. They have started lower level pro tournaments with decent prize money all around the world. You have players that will probably not be able to win in qualifying at Majors and these UTR tourneys will help with experience play and some financial assistance.

[@strongbrain3128]

Interesting. How UTR as an organization is able to fund the matches without financial incomes from audiences by arranging those matches? Cannot just grab money from the thin air.

[@harshvardhansahu4360]

Thus, Novak Djokovic is a true champion!

[@atedejong5620]

Most pro tennisplayers come already from well off families. Their career is bankrolled by them, same as F1 drivers. You dont go through karting, formula 3 and formula 2 without having any money from your direct family or even a rich uncle!! Would like to see the statistics of the top 500 players (male and female), and the wealth or income of their parents!! The most difficult tournaments is the Challengers, where technically no one is interested in, and therefore price money is way less then ATP or WTA.

[@staschristiansen2605]

12k a year on stringing and racquets for Liam, that is crazy!!

[@KrayzListerine]

Not sure the numbers massively add up. In theory, he shouldn't be having to buy rackets as they last a while (also being sponsored by Dunlop they should provide them for free). And stringing if it's done before every tournament, wouldn't add up to $12,000. Maybe if it was before every match and natural gut, then maybe, but that's not being particularly economical.

[@Shankar-Bhaskar]

​@@KrayzListerine Clothing, shoes, accessories, travel, food. I think he meant all these even though he didn't mention them

[@erikthehalfabee6234]

It's hard for any individual sport to spread earnings. The difference really is team sports which can support 800 (NBA alone) vs 150 globally in tennis.

[@sportscastercanada]

Tennis is like poker: luck, skill, and timing.

[@getsmart795]

I believe the top ranked players in both the ATP and WTA make more money in endorsement deals that they do in prize money. Therefore the prize money at any tournament should be equal prize money for each round so if you win the tournament you've made more than others who've lost in lower rounds. I think that would help players who are struggling financially , and I think it would add depth to the "tour".

[@ChrisKimDMD]

I like you idea

[@brandonaldaymachuse6669]

I agree but at some point, if you've been slugging it out for years on the lower circuits, barely making even, I think at that point, you've just got to really look at yourself and ask yourself if you are stubborn and if you really should find another career.

[@Irishb0y]

I think tennis needs to take example from badminton with BWF (Badminton World Federation) which is governing body of both men and women pro leagues. They held all same tournaments for men and women every calender year, so the viewers can watch MS, WS, MD, WD and XD consistently on every tournament, therefore most of the badminton fans are really engaged to both men and womens competition (although badminton is not a popular sport worldwide, but that's another issue to talk about), so in terms of increasing fans engagement and ticket sales, one governing bodies with one calender events for both men and women system can work.

[@VARMOT123]

Badminton is miles ahead of tennis in terms of sheer number of fans popularity but tennis is richer because of rich europe and america

[@rishbahpandey8697]

@@VARMOT123 lol tennis is way more popular than badminton. Top tennis players regularly in top 50 Forbes richest athletes list. And Federer is always in top 5 or top 10. Badminton player don't even make into top 100 . Tennis way more popular than badminton

[@strongbrain3128]

If a sport at a level attracts no audiences who pay to watch it, there should be no financial reward to the players. You earn what you kill. This is true for any professional sports.

[@martinavila7401]

i mean thats the issue when the income a player receives depends on prize money like in tennis because while the super good players make millions for winning a tournament there are the less good players that probably will never win a tournament in their careers , at least is better than most olympic athletes that if dont get a medal pretty much dont have nothing

[@airbender9593]

I will keep to having tennis as hobby. :)

[@mlong9475]

Tennis is a popularity contest. More people will pay to see someone they have heard about vs someone they have not. Like back in the day you would pay big bucks to see Andre Agassi VS Pete Sampras. If you're not at the top often you are easily forgotten.

[@strongbrain3128]

Agree. If a sport at a level attracts no audiences who pay to watch it, there should be no financial reward to the players. You earn what you kill. This is true for any professional sports.

[@sjormasklin]

well its like this in most sports, its hard to make a living if you are not at least in top 200

[@DRDR3ADSA]

Makes me wonder why there aren't any tennis teams? Surely for economies of scale it would be better to set up a team especially at lower ranks

[@joesinclair6191]

Billie Jean King is keen on teams too!

[@timothyw3662]

Amazing video! I hope that all of the different governances can come together and form one neutral governance for the good of all tennis.

[@starttheconvopod]

At 6:58, it’s very interesting that he would compare the Challengers to ‘University.’ He’s obviously a little out of touch on that point. There are grown men in Challengers trying to fight their way back due to injury and/or losing streaks.

[@fdm2155]

I think he meant it's a prelude to the bigger pro tours akin to minor league baseball in the US

[@corngreaterthanwheat]

King is so badass she won all those tournaments in 60's dork glasses. I can't look down for thirty seconds without mine falling off my head 🤣

[@user-go8oj4dl4w]

I don't understand why the picture quality of the coverage from lower level tournaments is so bad. What's preventing the tournaments releasing HD footage? I see they might not be able to have a presenter, commentary, analysis etc due to the costs involved, but I don't understand the terrible camera situation.

[@strongbrain3128]

You need to pay decent amount of money to find a good computer server to serve the live stream of tennis plays to many viewers.

[@user-go8oj4dl4w]

@@strongbrain3128 seems to me all the footage available on youtube is low quality. Maybe they'd gain an audience by releasing some matches or highlights in HD (doesn't have to be live).

[@strongbrain3128]

@@user-go8oj4dl4w chicken and egg problem. Who foots the bill to have high quality recordings of games in the first place? The viewership of unknown players is very low, and not worth to pay for.

[@user-go8oj4dl4w]

@@strongbrain3128 I don't think that's the reason as the quality of footage they release on KZbin is much worse than you would get from a budget camera phone. I think they already have good footage but there's some other reason they don't release it. Perhaps I can pay to watch it in HD somewhere or there's some licensing deal they have which means they have keep it such low quality on YT.

[@strongbrain3128]

@@user-go8oj4dl4w You have to pay for the resources who will handle the recordings and process videos. This costs money with no good returns. It is simply economics calculation.

[@saffaboy2007]

I'd love to be a professional cricket player. But I'm not good enough so I had to give up on that dream. Maybe others need to do that to if they want to earn a proper wage?

[@sunnyc8900]

The difference between a team sport and an individual sport is that while the club pays a lot for a super star like Messi, the club also needs to pay well for defenders and goal keepers, so that the team is a championship winning team. This natural force to look after the non-super stars doesn't occur in golf or tennis. In the business world, it's also the top car manufacturers, phone manufacturers, etc that make super profits. Once business management can't compete with the best, employees and shareholders are affected. Like Nokia, British Leyland etc If you are not making a product that consumers want to buy, there is no income. If you believe you have an idea for a good product, you need funding (from investors or borrowing) to develop your business. If you are not playing at a level that consumers want to watch, there is no income. If you believe you potentially have a good game, you need funding (from investors or borrowing) to develop your game. Many tennis fans don't play tennis and can't name a player outside the top 50. In my family, my mum, sister, my mother in law and sister in law watch more tennis than my tennis playing buddies. Perhaps this is another factor influencing the income of the players. The world of business is tough. Best wishes to all of us trying our best in that world.

[@christodang]

That’s a really good point about team vs individual sports

[@julkiewicz]

Also even a smaller team is able to bring in a lot of extra revenue via merch, sponsorships, etc. But 200 individual players wouldn't be able to do the same. You also get this neat geography mechanic where people feel represented by their city's team even when all the players basically come from other places in the country or around the world. Teams are a really well optimized machines to generate revenue in sports.

[@sunnyc8900]

@@christodang Thank you

[@galinor7]

Another point is that team sports are often geographically based. They have their own stadia and play almost all their home games there. Travel and expenses are therefore limited to going to your own local stadium and playing there for half of your games. Even relatively minority sports that maybe get 4-6 thousand to a game will pay professionals and function because of the nature of this dynamic. Most sports are locally geographical not world based as well. For example, Rugby League is a different sport the Rugby Union and much less well known. It is far less popular that tennis and not in the top ten most popular world sports. In fact there are only two domestic leagues which are major league and fully Pro in the world. They are the UK and Australia. Yes some pro teams from other countries play in those leagues too. But look at those leagues! In the UK for example the team St Helens might get 15,000 to home games every week. Play 14 or 15 home games a year and have a TV deal and the money will just flow in. Rugby league appears to have more pro players than tennis who are making a living from just playing but they only need to make their money in one town per team.

[@aidanw9378]

I don't think the main issue is low prize money, it's the high costs to maintain a tour lifestyle. Subsidized coaching, paid physio and meal plans and city-specific bases (I.e. the WTA/ATP rents a building for 1.5 weeks during a tournament and provides reduced-cost housing to players, or even short term billet programs. You can easily live off of 1500 euros for 1.5 weeks, but not when you have so many expenses. Cut the expenses, provide your players efficient options to stay on tour when the results aren't coming, and you have a healthier tour.

[@RowanGontier]

I was comforted by the reason for staying in brothels being to reduce costs. If it was to earn some extra money, that would have been sensational.

[@beautifulcaramelman]

*sensational future voice

[@atomics.h.1824]

LoL your comment is hilarious 😋😋😋

[@Fitness4London]

More money for grassroots tennis would have such a positive impact on young people from poorer backgrounds. There's a great KZbin channel,Tennis Brothers, where young British tennis player Felix Mishka explains in depth about the challenges of getting his first ATP point. One of the episodes explores the annual costs of a professional tennis player in detail.

[@tonydaysog9164]

When you really think about it, a significant part of the fan base has incredible disposable income. The answer to improving the wellbeing of players ranked from 100 to 250 is actually NOT that complicated. But there's no institutional incentive on the part of the existing leadership to do anything other than what it does.

[@mrmileskp]

I'd rather be an unsuccessful tennis player than an unsuccessful boxer, Imagine getting battered for peanuts

[@isitchicken]

It’s no different from most pro sports. For every success story there’s a thousand heartbreaks as being able to make a living playing sport is an extremely rare privilege .

[@simmerke1111]

For a sport as big as Tennis, it's surprising though. 1b fans and not even a few hundred players who can make a living. Making big money should be reserved for the top, obviously. But not losing money should be a given for at least the top 250, no?

[@Fitness4London]

Yep, that definitely needs to change.

[@CMMSFP]

I’m in the tech industry. I’d also like to see the founders and CEOs share more money. You think it will happen? 😂😂😂 Draw larger crowds and you’ll make more money.

[@acikacika]

Why not interview someone from PTPA as well?

[@darrenhong2734]

I mean this type of distribution that the video shows isn't unique to almost any profession. The problem now is that because the distribution gap is getting wider and wider it makes it harder for anyone to compete simply because of the initial advantages for someone winning so many times. You'd think the public would want any sport to be competitive all around because it's entertaining to watch everyone compete and not just star players dominate the court but here we are...

[@mchl_morris]

Financial Times, I'm not sure if requests are taken but I thought I'd ask whether it's possible to do a similar type of video but for chess players instead. It'd help a part of us out as the audience just like this one has.

[@joesinclair6191]

Are you a chess player? Is there money to be made?

[@joesinclair6191]

@@mchl_morris Thanks Mario. I made the tennis film for the FT. My knowledge of chess pay is limited to Queen's Gambit, but I'm sure you're right and it would be interesting to look further. All best

[@bobykrumov]

The main difference between players who aren't stars in lets say NBA and the lower rank tennis players is that in tennis your income is always dependent on wins. In NBA you get your 10 Mil/year no matter if you are winning every game or if you loose all year long. If you are injured for 1 year or if you are playing poorly - you still get your 10 Mil. It's quite an injustice that only the top 100 players in tennis can earn big money and the other ones srruggle toeven make a (good) living. Of course, the stars generate the most interest. But the disparity shouldn't be so large.

[@tennispennis7579]

Most sports are like this and Tennis is no different, at the amateur level some people work all week to afford to compete at the weekends in their given sport, then pack up go home and start work on Monday morning. I suggest that if your serious and have the talent you should naturally rise to the top. Tennis is one of the cheapest sports given the equipment needed to play even at the top level. Players need to attract some sponsors locally to help with their expenses and maybe if the tornaments would pick up the cost for a budget hotel for players who are competing for the first time and outside the top 200 that would help but essentially it's up to the individual to manage their funds carefully and not expect too much out of tennis until they have actually earned it and can pay for it themselves.

[@KP-ei9yp]

Billie Jean is on to something with team tennis, it is the only way to make more money. We need to have teams to attract sponsors because players come and go

[@riotbunny]

It's tough to make a living out there. My career prize money was $15💰

[@momojanaimo]

Is this different than other sports?

[@marfu1119]

I think in tennis the prize money needs to get higher for every player in the small tournaments and Grand Slams. The top players get rich by endorsements not just from prize money. The prize money is good but not good enough. The Grand Slams should be paying at least 5 million for the winner and the smaller tournaments at least 500,000 to 2 million for the winner. Not surprisingly the lower rank players struggles they have to pay coaches transport etc and the prize money in the small tournaments is not enough is like pay check to pay check for the lower ranked players some have to take on other jobs

[@Mdgfievf]

Tennis at least has prize money for the lower rankings unlike pretty much every other summer and winter Olympic sport… If they say their competing against the outside world they’re doing 10000% better than most sports.

[@lan8854]

This is why most tennis players have wealthy parents. Who else has the freedom to pursue their dreams at such low rankings and income?

[@kenrehill8775]

Do an in depth episode on showjumping, it’ll make your hair stand on end!

[@Mulerider4Life]

Would this not be the same story with Minor League Baseball?

[@DonLee1980]

Much of it is how the sport is set up. Basketball, no matter if it's on a school level or a national level, there's a team of players (not one), and they represent a team, a city, a school, a country and have a natural fan base. An NBA season, no matter if you're the worst team or the best team, you play 82 games, so there's revenue and tv time for everyone. A basketball game, even at a high school level is entertaining to watch and will can sell tickets. Meanwhile a tennis player that is not a household name may be playing in a foreign country, with almost no one in the stands. Will need to pay for his/her own travel, and if you can't make it thru the first round, you simply won't appear anywhere on tv and the only audience will have seen you are family and friends. I went to watch my friend compete in a tennis tournament and the stadium was at about 2% capacity. When it was sunny, it was too hot and nobody wanted to come because it's an open stadium, when it was raining, well, the game was stopped.

[@why-mope]

tennis is probably the most popular individual sport, but the fact that it is an individual sports means that it lacks the team aspect. People cannot root for a tennis team like they would in other popular sports

[@ItsAllAboutGuitar]

Tennis is still in the 20th century. I would LOVE to pay a monthly or yearly fee to get all the majors, but go to their sites. It's not easy to do. You have to subscribe to ESPN. ESPN died ten years ago. Just the majors is only eight weeks a year. Where are the story lines for the minors? I've loved tennis most of my life. I know the Federer, Djokovic, Nadal, Murray era, the Agassi Sampras era, and a little of the McEnroe era. Not that impressive over the last forty years.

[@marchandresen6421]

To many players. That's it. The rule of supply, demand and price also works here.

[@smdanny1]

Free choice; take responsibility for your own choices. It you cant make a living doing something, do something else.

[@HS-ie8tj]

Thank you. Accept that you are simply not good enough to make a "good" living. These people just can't deal with the reality that they wasted their entire childhood, adolescence and early adulthood on tennis with zero to show for it. Move on.

[@strongbrain3128]

If a sport at a level attracts no audiences who pay to watch it, there should be no financial reward to the players. You earn what you kill. This is true for any professional sports.

[@jamesadcock5235]

Ronnie needs to watch this

[@rdgrow]

Isn't it much like golf? The top players get rich while lesser ones struggle with meeting expenses. More golf tournaments get on TV though, and maybe that's partly because great golf courses show well on a big flat screen.

[@MMM18092]

Prize money in golf is much higher than in tennis for someone ranked 100 or 200 in the world.

[@dablackangel]

Why not have more local tennis matches that are cheaper so regular people can go watch them. Then maybe lower ranked players of that country might be able to earn money that way.

[@AkhyansuPattnaik]

Inequality is so deep rooted in everything around us & revamping that means a complete transformation of the status quo. This is true not just in tennis as a sport but in most sports. Imagine someone from my country India wanting to play a sport other than cricket the support from the federation & infrastructure available are too feeble to ensure that he/she can sustain a state of the art training regime, with proper physio, diet & doctors. With rise of electronic sporting and mobile games not a lot of kids are interested in real sports which represents another challenge. An objective analysis of the problem taking all stakeholders into confidence is required, which should be resolved towards ensuring a sustainable ecosystem for the sport. the objective should be that every kid in every country around the world who wishes to play the game should be accorded the best possible opportunities to do so.

[@mzamroni]

the broadcasters puts too many ads. Tennis has changeover every 2 games, which is about every 10 minutes

[@K4R3N]

A computer programmer in USA makes USD$100K-$150k sitting home drinking coffee.

[@rishbahpandey8697]

100 ranked tennis player make 450k dollars in prize money and some more in endorsement

[@K4R3N]

@@rishbahpandey8697 I don't think so.

[@rishbahpandey8697]

@@K4R3N it is statistics. Your thinking doesn't matter

[@Phlegethon]

So it’s just like being a professional poker player

[@popcolgate9490]

It's largely because of tennis is an individual sport that they can't generate and distribute money like team sports. A football team could easily earn money sustainably from ticket, merchandise, stadium food, stadium naming rights etc. Money stream that unfortunately individual athletes are not able to get into.

[@adityasarang5755]

I have always wondered why not do round robin in the earlier rounds of tournaments, shorter format like 10 point TB in lieu of 3rd set. This way each player plays more matches, more viewership because you will likely get to see Federer, Djokovic, Nadal play on the same day, more money distribution. Players outside of top 100 should also start their KZbin channel, Instagram etc. Record their matches on GoPro and share. You never know when something can pick up and become a hit.

[@quentincrisp6933]

That concept is nice for your local tennis club but not for professional championship tennis! We have round robin in the Masters at the end of the year and that's enough.

[@quentincrisp6933]

@@overdrive_tennis Oh so staying at a hotel is cheaper than an airline ticket?

[@MrSuperOurs]

Crazy to think that in one of the most popular sports on the planet, being among the top 300 players in the entire world doesn't guarantee a living wage. The Tennis organisation is absolutely fked and things need to change... In comparison, the NBA's lowest paid player earns 633K$ a year. And that's for a domestic league. And he still gets free food, travel, accommodation, physio and coaches. The average English Premier League salary is 3.9 million USD. And in Tennis you have a male median salary of 130K$... you add the expenses, coach, travel/hotel, taxes... not much left in the pocket. It's ridiculous. Where does the money go? Sounds like a big organised mafia to me.