Why most tennis players struggle to make a living

Tennis fails where other sports provide a living for their players.
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During the US Open in New York, Vox video sat down with professional tennis players and the head of the Professional Tennis Players Association to explain the pay problem in the top-five global sport. Tennis is unique among other professional sports in how players are paid, what costs they are responsible for, and how they are categorized as independent contractors. The result is that - unless you are consistently among the very top-ranked players like Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, and Naomi Osaka - it’s nearly impossible to make a living with income from tennis alone.
Unlike other sports that provide support for people outside the very top performers, tennis leaves them high and dry.
In 2021, Novak Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil co-founded a players organization in part to try to address these issues they believe pose an existential threat to the sport. It’s called the Professional Tennis Players Association, and Vox video worked with it to interview players and the organization’s president to shed light on the structural issues that cause such a pay disparity when compared with other global sports.
The Professional Tennis Players Association site:
www.ptpaplayers.com/
New York Times magazine published a great magazine piece on this issue:
www.nytimes.com/2021/06/29/ma...
And a more recent ESPN piece on the issue:
www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/i...
For a profile on Taylor Townsend:
www.nytimes.com/2023/01/18/sp...
The ATP will be trialing a minimum wage for players starting next year:
www.reuters.com/sports/tennis....
Vox is an explanatory newsroom on a mission to help everyone understand our weird, wonderful, complicated world, so that we can all help shape it. Part of that mission is keeping our work free. You can help us do that by making a gift: www.vox.com/givenow
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[@charlesmoxey8122]

Wow. I knew tennis didn't have the best payment structure but I didn't know it was this bad. Thank you Vox for bringing this to light

[@bsktballman08]

They’re lying, as usual.

[@charlesmoxey8122]

@@bsktballman08 Proof?

[@xfg007]

Novak Djokovic has been saying this for ages, that's why he founded the PTPA

[@kacemat]

​@bsktballman08 they really aren't. Honestly, you barely make money from the sport, especially when your below the top 100. The most money you will probably make is from the sponsorships

[@ChiliM4n]

And thanks Djokovic for making aware of this and since years trying to have a better pay for small players at his own expense.

[@jaredvaughan1665]

I support Djokovic's efforts to create a player's union.

[@daariashaheen6411]

Is this the reason why he is so hated ?

[@grokker99]

If players are employees theyll have to follow employer rules.

[@tylerdracing]

@@daariashaheen6411 No, that would give him positive support. Negativity comes from being anti vax and anti medicine. And he forged documents to lie to Australian officials to try to sneak in the country.

[@rodriguerra3639]

@@tylerdracing also no, he was already hated before that

[@kpcvids]

​@@daariashaheen6411 no, it's because he doesn't believe in COVID, among other things 💀

[@monsieur1936]

Taylor Townsend is a really good player. She has 63% win rate in singles and 72% in doubles and she appeared in 2 grandslam doubles finals. Still if someone like her can't make enough out of the game, it's fair to assume that Tennis as a sport is RESERVED for the rich.

[@masterminer5159]

shes made 4 mil and shes only 27

[@Boollish]

@@masterminer5159 Sure, $4M is a lot of money to you or me. But if she made that money over 10 years, we can say that's $400k a year. Still a lot of prize money, sure. But a management company probably takes 5%. Then you pay a coach, costs $2500-$5000 a weekend, to travel to big tourneys. So that's another $50k gone. For a single coach. Many top players travel with a whole team and family. All travel has to be paid out of pocket. Many players have estimated that room and board, even flying coach and budget hotels, that this is another $50k a year. So she's down to $200k a year. But she hasn't paid taxes, or health care, or for training, or the general lifestyle to maintain a professional athletic level. All in, she's probably not taking home much more than an average kind-of smart 27-year-old. Meanwhile the TOs are taking in big bucks from luxury sponsors. A rank 150 player doesn't net enough money in a career to buy the Rolex that sponsors the serve speed clock.

[@LebronCCP]

Agree. Also the best women basketball players in the world barely make over 6 figures. Something needs to change. Nba needs to share revenue.

[@echochamber1234]

maybe moreso than other sports, but it's not like other pro sports are easily accessible to the middle class. it takes a lot of money and spare time to train a child from a young age to go pro at any sport. to get to "700th best player" in the NBA, there's a lot of investment from a young age we don't see. even worse for a capital intensive sport like F1 or golf.

[@rangersking6699]

@@masterminer5159 she made 4 mil before taxes and before paying her coaches and travel expenses and whatever else. It’s not that simple

[@radityarian1533]

On a side note though, this is why Djokovic and some other players decided to establish the PTPA, their main agenda is to address the inequality of the income for the rest of the players. And it’s cool to see a dozens of top players also joined this initiative, to collectively address the issue

[@joelmonteiro1419]

I have no idea why the PTPA wasn't mentioned in the video. It's by far the biggest step taken in the right direction.

[@jeremyneiderhoff]

​@@joelmonteiro1419because the ATP and ITF paid for this video. All talk and no real solutions

[@impresssed1213]

ATP and ITF are competitors lol, and on top of that no corporation is gonna pay to be bad mouthed like this. Instead, the reason it wasn't mentioned is because the PTPA didnt pay to be mentioned.@@jeremyneiderhoff

[@Dakappon]

@@joelmonteiro1419 Because Djokovic did not take the vaccine, and Vox doesn’t want to promote someone who is against their agenda

[@OedipusSimplex]

@@joelmonteiro1419 Ahmad Nassar is the Executive Director of the PTPA.

[@alimfuzzy]

My uncle was a world champion rower. His crew beat the olympic champions of same year they won the world championship. He didnt make a cent, and lost money, rowing. He worked as a teacher just to get by. He quit rowing because he couldn't afford it any more. He's doing good now he's a principal making a good living.

[@DrDjDD]

Rowing and many other sports just don't have TV audience and sponsors. When was the last time you saw rowing on TV?

[@alimfuzzy]

@DrDjDD that's my point. Not all athletes, even the world's best, can make a living. Side note, actually ivy league schools pay rowing coaches a lot, much more than world champions. For some reason, they take it very seriously.

[@ameykasar]

@@alimfuzzy I think what DrDjDD is saying is - "Tennis has a huge audience and huge revenue. Where does it all go if not to the players? Check the pockets of the tournament directors."

[@alimfuzzy]

@@ameykasar unfortunately, FIFA can answer that.

[@RandyMahnke]

​@@DrDjDDIn Germany there's often rowing on TV, we are a big rowing nation

[@scpatl4now]

I would love to know what the directors of these tennis organizations make.

[@steffen_drei]

Chief executive (Wimbledon) Michael Downey received £654,000 last year

[@romanmir01]

if they are smart they should be making multiples of what players make

[@midknight]

@@steffen_drei that’s a lot for a single tournament

[@lavaregion6968]

@@midknight well the winner of Wimbledon got $3 million dollars so what do you say to that. In tennis, you make the big bucks if you do well

[@SF3284]

​@@lavaregion6968LMFAO did you watch the video? 5:00

[@TheCivilizedSavage5326]

They are forgetting the fact that those other sports (NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB) have a Collective Bargaining Agreement...which is why they get nearly 50% off revenues and have top tier minimum salaries.

[@scorpioninpink]

That's why Djokovic and other players created the PTPA but it is being demonized because he started it and top players like Nadal and Federer didn't support it.

[@Alex-ii9sp]

Right, the players associations' are unions, organized labor. That is what the PTPA is trying to be. It is only in its infancy now but if enough public support is given and enough players come on board, you could see a future where the major tennis orgs are forced to come to the negotiating table with a group of unionized tennis players.

[@johnmclachlan3602]

Strike!

[@backto-il9ne]

Theya are not "forgetting" that fact. They are aware of it and that is why they are championing to have a similar collective bargaining agreement in tennis.

[@juiceman_3]

The big difference is sports that have competitions/tournaments as a main source of revenue rather than a league can’t operate the same when it comes to revenue

[@lavaregion6968]

This is sad since Tennis is one of the most popular sports in the world. While the top players are extremely rich, the bottom ones are struggling to live.

[@RealShaktimaan]

That's how it is in every sport. Including golf.

[@parkercrossland410]

To play, not to watch/support, which is where money comes from

[@lavaregion6968]

@@parkercrossland410 it’s also the 5th most watched in the world

[@xuxon24]

People tend to watch the big 4 the other don't get the same popularity

[@parkercrossland410]

@@lavaregion6968 Take away any country/region that isn't a 1st world market. The NFL/College Football destroy tennis in terms of revenue generated because they have a massive foothold in America. America and Western Europe. You need to have a strong hold in one or more of these markets to make bank. If you look at revenue generated, tennis would fall under 1 billion annually when you combine the varying parties (slams, atp, wta, the rest), meaning it falls 8th or 9th, 10th even if we include motorsports. People may watch it, but not the people that generate revenue.

[@shiftt.]

I appreciate the fact that Novak through the PTPA (players association) is doing his best to push for better financial conditions for players. It's better for everyone.

[@harisselmanovic1030]

When Djokovic founded the PTPA the idea was to provide collective bargaining power to tennis players. It’s funny how Nadal and Fed didn’t support him. Just tells you the level of privilege they possess and lack of care for those underprivileged. Their PR can say whatever they want but this was their chance to make a real historic difference in tennis and Fedal sided with the tournaments. Hopefully the PTPA continues to grow and the young players have more compassion and join the movement right away!

[@bingo1646]

True

[@The_Jazziest_Coffee]

you know i really am deeply opposed to djokovic for a ton of reasons, and definitely a lot of them are quite petty and relate to his incidents but i can't deny, the fact that he actually has made efforts to improve the personal power towards tennis players compared to the other two goats says a lot about himself, and that he truly cares

[@syedshahrukhraza2923]

@@The_Jazziest_Coffee That's coz Djokovic grew up poor in war-torn Serbia whereas Fedal grew up rich and became even richer through tennis. It's just a fact of life that if you are in a privileged environment, your mindset will eventually start to compartmentalize the suffering of those less fortunate than you. I'm a Federer fan btw.

[@vonbraun8051]

I have a friend who was a linesman on the ATP tour (back when they used humans to call lines). He got to know a lot of the players and observed a lot of what the players were like. He told me that without a doubt the nicest guy was Djokovic. Djokovic was kind to everyone--ball kids, volunteers, janitors, cops, everyone--and not just when press was around (like a lot of other players were). Yes, he said Federer was nice guy too, but Djokovic really impressed him most that way.

[@Vynetic]

Is Federer and Nadal not supporting this association real? What is the association for and is it still working?

[@ptpaplayers]

A core part of our mission. Thank you for helping shed light on this.

[@Maltamilkbone]

The broader tennis community is in alignment with the aspirations of the PTPA. While the push for unionization is admirable, will the PTPA look to get involved with brokering future TV deals? It is ridiculously difficult for most American tennis fans to watch matches outside of the grand slams because they are only broadcast on Tennis Channel, which is not included in most standard cable packages.

[@brandontaylor7129]

This is exactly why I had to stop. I turned pro briefly after college but I was only able to secure short term sponsorships..not enough security. That's why turning pro in tennis is really about luck. Sometimes the best players slip through the cracks because they don't have the financial resources.

[@michaelgrimm8078]

It is not just pro tennis, any sport same. NFL has more salary, but in the same time there is a lot more competition. You did good and right choice.

[@rosePetrichor]

Another aspect that is unique is that you have no idea when you will be travelling; if you get knocked out in the first round of a tournament or get to the semi-final means a difference of a whole week. many players have appearances at smaller challenger tournaments lined up for the second week of grand slams, *just in case* they get knocked out early and need to make some extra money. It's such a stressful way to live.

[@TheMe9595]

I feel like this won’t change unless we see players forming a union and striking some tournaments. I’m also curious to know if golf has the same issue or if they have a different system.

[@HKim0072]

Numbers are always opaque. Sounds like PGA was lower before. PGA is touting 55% goes to the players now, but there is always murky counting rules.

[@kkt391]

There is PTPA but voices in Tennis is too scattered.

[@lobstertantrum9511]

Unless the players themselves formed a tennis club and combined their earnings

[@2531Prasad]

If the game is Player A vs Player B then all you technically need is a referee and a playground . You can livestream your game and keep all the generated income and pay the referee . Create your own league literally in your backyard Really the question should be how much value is it generating , if I make a new sport and Cost to organize that sport is 25 mil a day. If I have 0 audience that's 25 mil down per day. On the contrary Bellaporch became worth 10 mil in last 2 years with 0$/day organisation cost. It's all about how many eyeballs you can capture, if we treat sport as fun activity and consider sports income as a reward that will make more sense . You'll form a union and strike against what ? People not buying your merchandise ?

[@CrescentCitySweaters]

Golf is currently in a state of flux with the possible PGA/LIV Golf merger that for antitrust reasons might not be a merger. They’re kinda still working that out on the fly

[@tds7078]

Love that VOX made a video on this topic. The ATP/WTA has so many interesting obstacles in the way of athletes. As a former player, investigating corruption within the sport at the professional level interested me while in undergrad so I wrote a paper on the topic.

[@bachvutuyetvoi3789]

can u share your paper, I'm so curious and would love to learn more. Thank you!

[@clintonsmith9189]

This video really needed to talk about why the 18% of player profit share number isn't higher and what can be done.

[@Maltamilkbone]

The 18% figure appears worse than it actually is considering the total revenues in tennis are sub-three billion. A larger share of tennis’s revenues are going towards fixed costs as opposed to other sports leagues that can dedicate a higher percentage of total revenue to variable costs (player earnings/salaries).

[@now2307]

I can’t believe this is not addressed all these years. Even being a 100th player among thousands of good players is a big deal. It takes a lot of practice, dedication, struggle. Hope they compensate these players one way or the other.

[@dusko2494]

Novak Djokovic is the only big name to shine light on this topic also be is the founder of the PTPA players association. Nadal and fed have always been silent on the topic.

[@move3spaces246]

Fedal are truely an embarrassment to Tennis! They 100% should be involved! But…they just don’t care!

[@alexxanbr1038]

Not only silenced!!! They went openly against his decision and calling his action as disruptive of 'tennis unity'. They consent with all heavy criticism that was going all toward Djokovic. And protected the interest of the organizer of events:/. They simply don't care about lower ranked outside of their bubble.

[@gorankuk]

They should mention PTPA, that is a trying to address this same problem. Also how Djokovic who was trying to help met so much resistance from players with privilege like Nadal, Murray and Federer who did not want to support this movement. Press was as well not very kind and they all tried to show how PTPA is going to break tennis. They turn back on players who were struggling to survive on the tour instead of helping them.

[@blessmeaachoo8348]

The video is kinda promoting ptpa since all the graphs and research shown in the vid were conducted by ptpa and the non-tennis player who was speaking is a part of ptpa + ig the players that are talking also openly support ptpa. Sometimes they don’t need to say things like this out,cuz if ptpa is openly mentioned in this vid it basically would show the tennis organisations in a bad way which they would not like. Ptpa must’ve collaborated with vox to make this vid therefore are mentioned in the video. Silent marketing

[@Fernball21]

The man Ahmad Nassar was subtitled as the president of the PTPA

[@ets160]

This is literally a PTPA supported video

[@rebekah.fisher4]

I think the topic should be 'why most athletes in indiviudal sports stuggle to make a living’. It would yield the same conculsion as to tennis. If anything tennis might be the most 'well off' out of any of the other sports.

[@rangersking6699]

Tennis definitely is not the most well off for the athletes lol

[@janzy1980]

Yeah the comparisons with teams sports that arguably generate a lot more revenue than tennis aren't the best ones. I would have liked to see a comparison with combat sports like boxing and UFC included. These guys have it the worst...

[@alternativethoughts13]

I would like to know about that too. How difficult it is in individual sports. I’m pretty sure Badminton, Squash and other racquet sports have the same issue.

[@parkercrossland410]

Lack of merchandizing, lack of "immortality" (teams exist after players retire), too globalized to legitimately capture the casual Western audience. If America created their own national tennis circuit back in the 80's/90's and got a decent chunk of the top players to stay, the money would have come.

[@redda2]

Yup it's all individual sports with this issue, not just Tennis

[@W4TSKY]

I saw so many ad posts from WTA players for the hotels they were staying at during the US Open. Even from Rybakina. Think about that. The #4 tennis player in the world has to reach out to hotels for sponsorship deals just to be able to afford to stay long enough to compete in a grand slam. That’s sickening.

[@akbarberlian]

wow man..

[@radityarian1533]

I don’t think that’s the case for the top players, could be the other way around considering the big name they already established. I mean the hotel would be benefited a lot by being endorsed by the top players right?

[@deusexmachina9776]

last time I checked top players stay in hotels for free, they are just promoting. itf players pay for their own hotels

[@4end]

top players stay in hotels for free, the hotels do it for promotion

[@dlcrme]

Coco Gauff just won the US Open and promoted her hotel on ig

[@olggg9740]

Great to see Hubi speaking out about the issue!

[@userabn214]

Herbert Hurcaz is really nice person.

[@brandon_den]

NGL he talks a little strange

[@epointerwinboie]

@@brandon_denEnglish is not his first language

[@TheebX92]

I heard he burned an orphanage

[@StewNWT]

@@brandon_denhe’s polish

[@brandon_den]

@@epointerwinboie not the language but the way he slurs his words. But hey I like hin

[@Colonel_MaelRadec]

I didn't know this was happening at all. I love tennis, I was a tennis player, and I always wanted to dedicate myself to it at a professional level but to see how the system works saddens me enormously. The amounts of money are very low compared to other sports.

[@matt9904]

The most basic tactic by management against workers is divide and conquer. That is why they always oppose unions. So in a sport without teams the job of breaking worker solidarity is already done.

[@slobodankarapandzic3018]

Novak and Vasek Pospisil started PTPA to fight for lower rankings player But major opsticles for them was Roger and Rafa , because they ignored him and talk that is not moment to divide and make cracks in perfect tennis organization

[@Silver0426]

Nadal And Roger are very selfish players. 😢Is all just about them!😢Roger dream was not to help players like Djokovic, his dream was to become a billionaire 😢😢😢

[@stefanvasilache5252]

@@Silver0426he is billionaire from sponsors and business not from tournament prize money. 😊

[@capor23]

@@Silver0426 and what is wrong with having that dream ?

[@nuke___8876]

Tennis players aren't going to change the structure of who the leagues/tournaments are set up at the moment. What they could do is try to form some sort of union and then refuse to participate in any league/tournament that doesn't meet their minimum demands. Paid travel and lodging, and a player-negotiated pay-out system seem like good starting points.

[@ohgin12345]

Or they can fix matches. That's the only way they can make a living

[@scorpioninpink]

They already did. Djokovic started the PTPA exactly to address the inequality in Tennis but ATP and Tennis Media demonized him. Why do you think he was unjustly disqualified at the US Open in 2020 by accidentally hitting a line woman? Or how he was deported from Australia and Ban from the US Open in 2022? It was all because of PTPA.

[@nymike06]

That's not going to happen.

[@MonicaHolly143]

​@@scorpioninpinkno,it was becuz he refuse to get vax simple as that

[@brian_meaney]

Dustin Brown is not an "American" tennis player. He is German-Jamaican and has only ever represented those countries professionally.

[@nathangillingham5734]

Whatever he is, he's a legend

[@seph9980]

As a tennis fan, this always lived in the back of my head. It turns out, these players are living this difficult reality. This is perplexing as a fan.

[@EighthRobin]

Thank you so much for showing just how hard it is to do well in professional tennis. There is a bg iceberg of what the public sees (slams and big tournaments), and the lower ranked challenger and itf tournaments where it is so hard to break through.

[@jukukwakuattionu5080]

Dustin’s story is true m’y one of the saddest, such an amazing player. Fast and accurate ground strokes. An amazing serve placement and speed on both the 1st and 2nd. So good and a serve and volleyer. It’s so sad 😭😭😭😭

[@piscesgroovesupreme]

He would've been an absolute legend if he'd had the financial and medical support he needed throughout his career. It really is heartbreaking.

[@Zveebo]

Some players do have quite a bit of backing from their local tennis federation. For example, many UK players in the bottom reaches of the top flight rely pretty extensively on what is basically a salary provided to them by the LTA to support them. That’s funded by profits from Wimbledon - the private members club that runs Wimbledon donates 50% of their profits to support British Tennis. Some other countries have similar arrangements.

[@_o..o_1871]

The Romanian tennis federation is not funded so well even tho it is one of our most successful national sport organizations. Most of the tennis federations cannot help the players too much. Those in Canada and the UK are the exception to the rule!

[@gemmeldrakes2758]

Sports Associations in smaller, less wealthy countries don't have the resources to subsidize their players like this. Which is why sports like tennis are dominated by a few countries. If you can't buy a plane ticket to get to the tournament, being a talented athlete becomes a moot point.

[@michaeladkins6]

@@gemmeldrakes2758 Thats why a lot of Junior players have shopped around countries for a good opportunity.

[@sabarinathan6554]

Except south asia. It seems every country supports their players.

[@sabarinathan6554]

​@@michaeladkins6 i don't get it

[@khair101]

A sad reality and tennis is a class sport.

[@knav5216]

No. It isn't sad. That's how it's supposed to be. Same with other sports, the players should be paid less. Sports = past time. It isn't a job. They're even called "players". If they want to earn top dollar, they need to stop playing with their lives and work a real job or have a business.

[@corneilusdonaldson1858]

​@knav5216 Wow, having such a narrow aspect of life is just as sad. How one makes money should be as be as vast as their imagination. With some players making well more than they deserve, there's no reason why ANY professional athletes should be struggling to make ends meet, period.

[@walterwhite3417]

@@knav5216so who should bag all the tv and ticket revenue? Executives?

[@knav5216]

@@walterwhite3417 you got it. They're the ones that do the hard work to keep the sport relevant and efficient. Since players will be paid less, ticket prices, merch, should go down. It's a win-win. Even if players are paid less, there will still be people who will play. This time for the right reasons, just for fun. Not for money.

[@knav5216]

@@corneilusdonaldson1858 there's nothing professional about sports. 😆 Did they take the bar/board exam? Sports is just for past time. For people who are lazy. Similar to prostitutes, these players just want easy money. 😆

[@lynnturman8157]

Tennis is pricing itself out of existence, not only for the players but also the fans. Just to sit in the stadium at a grand slam costs a fortune but even just watching it on TV is expensive. You have to have cable or satellite to get ESPN or the Tennis Chanel. The old cliche that tennis is a rich person's sport seems to be true.

[@RockinFootball_23]

Is it though? For the finals and the main stadium I get it. But for a day pass at a grand slam during the first week is quite affordable. I went to the AO this year and my ticket cost me $60 AUD which lasts me all day and night. That’s some good value as I could watch top 20 players too, not just lower ranked players. I get it for the sports subscription services but it’s the same for like every other sport. Other than the main popular sports in the country (AFL for me), everything else is a mess on streaming services. So unless you follow the most popular sport in the country, it is always gonna cost a bit more to follow.

[@KamlikeHam]

Thanks for sharing. As a retired athlete, I can second that the expectations and pressure put on us are inhumane. Especially with younger athletes right now, they are not only enduring financial issues- it's environmental. There's more risks now because we are playing in extreme conditions be it hot, cold, toxic environments like bad teammates and so on. The sports community as a whole doesn't talk about this enough. Good video. 👍🏻

[@jkjkjk100]

I was pretty good junior in my country. I turned pro when i was 15 playing futures. Luckily i decided to call it quit, used my skill to get free ride to college and now have a quite successful career. Nothing fancy like roger or nadal but definitely better than if I continued playing.

[@ricardiocka]

i woder how tennis compares to other individual type sports like golf, ice skating, gymnastics, surfing, skateboarding, and others. It's hard to compare to team sports like nfl that at this point are more entertainment empires than sports organizations.

[@serbianluqualizerskiingbio5821]

The GOAT Novak Djokovic founded the PTPA precisely because of this. ИДЕМО НОЛЕ!!!

[@mridulsahu687]

This is very important issue that you have brought out to everyone. Thanks for this detailed video! Tennis must support its players to grow

[@bydariopoggi]

Such a great, informative and entertaining video. Nice work, Vox!

[@wiscadams]

Lots of noise about earning less and different employment structures than team sports but that's not really a good comparison. Golf would be the best analogue. Strange to talk about how much money is earned from a sport without digging into where that money comes from and how tennis stacks up to other sports.

[@VARMOT123]

Golf is a really upper class sport that their sponsors cater to really rich with high spending power. Tennis is a upper class sport but not that privileged

[@sandster]

Thank you Vox for bringing attention to this.

[@msmilesftw]

This is blowing my mind-thank you Vox for breaking this down-now I’m down the tennis player equity rabbit hole 🕳️

[@larrybranchii]

I love Taylor Townsend! She’s so well spoken, and is a top 10 player in the world in doubles.. and has beaten top 10 players like Simona Halep at the US Open.. couldn’t imagine a solid player like her not getting paid as well as we thought.

[@Martin-ls9bz]

4 million in prize money alone, I think she's doing alright

[@ohgin12345]

And doubles is never a sport that requires much skills anyway. Look at a doubles match and you can tell. Those matches are played by tennis retirees and former singles players who are not very skillful

[@xuxon24]

​@@ohgin12345well I wouldn't call it like that exactly but it's not the most popular part of the sport. They play their final and matches really early so they don't make the buzz like the women and men individual tournaments do.

[@StewNWT]

@@Martin-ls9bzshe’s had well over $1 million in expenses. She’s advocating for those who haven’t been as fortunate as her

[@ohgin12345]

@@xuxon24 just saying what it is instead of being a numskull like you and being politically correct all the time. Just watch a doubles tennis us open match and was totally unamazed at how cr@p a supposedly world no 1 doubles player is in terms of skill level. An amateur player can surpass him at any time. Austin kracijek if I can recall his name. Only reason why he can actually do well is because this tournament is either filled with ppl in their 40s or players that just play this discipline for fun when their focus is on the singles anyway. But it's ok. Continue being a loser in life

[@bulelanibotman]

my god, i actually never thought this was even a case for players in tennis. this needs to be discussed more with the global governing body of tennis because in reality they should be earning more money since its just two people playing each other

[@midknight]

Absolutely brilliant report. Thank you for this

[@cyriljohns]

Kudos to Vox for bringing this out!

[@esborg]

As a life long tennis player, avid tennis lover, this is heartbreaking to watch. The ATP and WTA need to do better.

[@Grapevin]

Would be curious to see comparisons to other traditionally solo sports like golf. A lot of the issues highlighted seem like an inherent problem with that sort of sport (as most of your numbers were compared to team sports, where a team has to pay a competitive salary to keep players from leaving).

[@ChandraNYC]

Gymnastics is a team sport. Even those competing in the All-Around or on the Individual Apparatuses are members of the team.

[@ISpitHotFiyaa]

Exactly. Compare it to golf and boxing. I doubt the number 300 boxer in the world is making much money either. Nobody's getting pay-per-view to see him fight.

[@Oh_that_mle]

This video needs to be shown everywhere! It’s outrageous how much tournaments generate in revenue and how little is actually compensated to players. I think of players who are top tier and get injured and miss months of playing - they aren’t paid. It’s awful.

[@jairomejia616]

Thank you for giving awareness to this huge problem. It is not fair!

[@Simon.Freund]

Really glad to see Vox bringing this to light!

[@TannerTownsend]

It’s not fair to compare it to the major team sports. Comparing it to professional golf, another singles sport is more accurate, and the two have very similar issues in regards to pay.

[@catlikearcher9955]

This is a struggle shared by the vast majority of athletes. Sports like football, F1, and basketball are the outliers.

[@BeginnerHoops]

F1 should not be included here since you need millions in funding or connections to the best sponsors to qualify for formula 4, formula 3, F2 before having a chance of reaching F1.

[@AndreaAirlines]

You need a LOT of money to even get near F1

[@plumpelstiltskin]

Yeah, but those other sports you're talking about don't generate huge sums of money for the non-players. The difference here (which they talk about in the beginning) is that tennis is generating ridiculous quantities of money, but only passing 18% of it back to the players. That's the unfair part.

[@VARMOT123]

F1 has 20 people and lot of them are sons of centi millionaires and billionaires .how is that comparable . Cricket and baseball are better examples

[@jeshkam]

@@axsmpl8767 Lol, it's a tough physical sport.

[@rajanmithrau6019]

Such a well made video! Great job team Vox.

[@nitsuj6801]

My coach was a top 200 player and he told me he stopped purely because he couldn't afford to play anymore

[@mitsuhh]

What's your rank?

[@nitsuj6801]

Lol I don't play professionally let alone take lessons anymore.@@mitsuhh

[@Danielevans2]

Part of the issue is that viewership for the sport is only for the top 10 players and because a match only requires 2-4 people there's less payout. A union would help along broadcasting smaller events throughout the year to give more opportunities too get revenue from playing

[@Kevinschart]

The issue is that the competitive format is disjointed. All the major sports have leagues that combine resources. It sounds like that doesn't exist for tennis. They can unionize all they want but until they find a way to consolidate the fans and market league play over tournament play there isn't much money to divide. This is not something the players can resolve

[@gatorf2]

Huge missed opportunity not talking about Novak Djokovic’s PTPA and the efforts to fix the problems outlined in this video. Hope to see a part 2 on this topic talking about the PTPA!

[@balajir9110]

Thanks for the update...

[@ameya9372]

And this is the reason I love and support Djokovic he brought the issue to light after founding PTPA. I hope he gets the credit for it.

[@VARMOT123]

Tennis is mostly an upper class american and european sport . Far from being global .number of tennis courts per country in most countries is very very low to make it global .it needs to work on that firstly

[@Tjd1982]

Look up the CFL, where some players have another job in the offseason. The salary cap is $5.45 million divided by 56 players. The highest paid player is Toronto's QB at $1.68 million over 3 years.

[@stackhat8624]

I'd like to make $560,000 a year.

[@donli5457]

Another thing that's worth mentioning is how the nationality of a player could significantly impact their chances of playing big tournaments and getting a better check. Let's say if you're from one of the 4 grand slam countries (Australia, France, UK, US) you have a much higher chance to receive a wild card to play the tournament or the qualifying rounds. Other than the Wimbledon, the other three grand slams will also exchange wild cards for their players to enter another grand slam. For example, if you're a promising but low ranking tennis player from the US, you have a chance of playing high prize tournaments like the US Open, Indian Wells, Miami, and Cincinnati. But someone from Romania or Indonesia with equivalent skills will never share these resources. They may receive wild cards for their low-tier home tournaments but the prizes will never compare to the grand slams. In fact, winning a WTA250 title pays you less than getting two bagels at the first round of grand slams.

[@drandrewtan]

Great video, Vox!

[@Lommy9999]

Equal pay is important, but the next step should be MORE PAY IN GENERAL. I wonder how players managed to play 50-60 years ago when even the top winners made pennies.

[@BeginnerHoops]

Most athletes back then worked side jobs.

[@edleung4046]

I think anyone that goes to ITF/challenger level tournaments knows it. You can see players wearing old clothing, partially worn shoes in matches. One time I went to an ITF tournament by train, and found one of the players had taken the same train as me to the tournament!

[@bmanna495]

You can also see the vibes in the match are so much more tense than ATP because they really depend on that little prize money or point they get our of it

[@gioberto855]

Yeah one year at Queens I finished watching this player and on the way back to the train station he and I say hello as he taps his card into Barons Court, mind you he was top 50 at this point

[@user-lf2nt6sc8f]

what a tragic story of women & men who sacrificed for people but are financially challenged. thank you for this docu. kudos!

[@nathanngumi8467]

Very informative!

[@Loyola86]

I get what they’re saying, they should make more money. But the problem is in accepting the structure that limits the possibility of making points within the same country or continent. It should be easier and cheaper to hold those low levels tournaments points.

[@vlogtheory4016]

Im sure you guys dont want to hear about the UFC and Dana White, its prob 10x worse than this and those guys get beat up for a living.

[@potatoscrub716]

It’s also the same for boxing with boxers on a headliner undercard. Dana also prevents endorsements with the new rebook deal. Tennis players have it a lot better than combat sports athletes

[@darrylgrigg3264]

This video is very informative. I was aware of the financial struggles for players below the World Tour level but this video makes it clear there are problems for WT players in the middle to lower ranks. I am happy to see Novak and his player`s group raising issues which need to be raised.

[@SamMontoia]

Comparisons to Table Tennis, Golf, and/or Track & Field could certainly paint a clearer picture if Tennis is altogether different to individual sports or not. I think the struggle for professional sports stardom isn't categorically worse for Tennis.

[@Rubbabandman]

Wearing YSL talking about how people in her career field don’t get paid enough😂😂

[@savagepro9060]

Vox: Why most tennis players struggle to make a living Pro Triathletes: 🤭😂😅😆🤣

[@justinn8410]

One actually makes revenue.

[@AndreaBioko]

Great video! As soon as ATP & WTA tours come together the tennis industry will rise up economically !

[@jaquevius]

Elite world class professionals outside of the top 100-150 can usually net more income becoming teaching pros. We had a young pro in his 20’s at my club who was top 100 in doubles and top 300 in singles who couldn’t afford the travel and other expenses. It’s mind boggling. You’re the best 100 out of 7 Billion people and can’t afford to continue.

[@aliop5762]

Tennis isn't unique in its challenges, many other sports face similar or even tougher issues. For example, if you look at swimming, track, or cycling, the disparities become clear. In the Tour de France, the bottom 50% earn only $200 in prizes.

[@aliop5762]

The issue is that your are comparing only with American sports and American prize money standards. However the main point still stands

[@jugurthasyphax6341]

Yes but tennis players have this reputation of living La Dolce Vita (traveling the world, staying in 4-star hotels, earning big prizes...), unlike the other sports you mentioned.

[@darkmatter5424]

Why does Hubi speak with so much melancholy? I almost want to go up and hug him. He is relatively successful to be honest and I'm pretty sure he has more than decent earning. 😅

[@pikachude5490]

Well he is sponsored by mclaren lol and gets to drive the latest mclarens to every tournament

[@ATKIT-SuaChuaDaiTuHopSoAT]

Thank you this video.

[@TennisChiKien]

👍

[@kaym7704]

So unfortunate they get paid so little. Tennis is one of my favorite sports. I wish there was a way to support them.

[@gbrl433]

you cant really compare tennis with closed american sports leagues or even the premier league That being said it is true that minor league players or lower level football players still have a bottom line being employees compared to tennis players being contractors

[@ohgin12345]

Arrrr premier league has the highest revenue there is. You have a problem

[@daveblack6951]

This is terrible for the sport! How many great players has the world missed out on!

[@btimec5290]

Wow I had no idea. Well done Vox. The graphics were helpful and excellent- you need to give a raise to Joey and Steph!

[@robinhoodieradio3394]

I appreciate bringing this issue to light. Why was Golf not mentioned in a big way in this video? Golf and Tennis are not team sports. Would have liked to hear more on that aspect.

[@jdalbion]

That is the case in every sport that is not a team sport... F1 for example is probably the most expensive one to succeed. You have to buy a car, mechanics, travel around the world, and so on. If your family isn't wealthy, or if you aren't an ex-racer son, chances that you will reach the top level are almost non existing.

[@nilsragnar1347]

5:20 ??? Isn't it really simple, it's a solo sport? If you're top 100 in basketball you're probably in a major team and playing in big games. If you're top 100 in tennis odds are no one knows who you are.

[@fsshue8657]

Tennis is unique as it’s a meritocracy… more winning = more money. But I think the money side has lagged behind other sports, especially soccer in the valuable US TV market. Years ago, tennis was on ESPN and network TV regularly . Now it’s basically on ESPN+ with some major matches on ESPN. Some of it is the lack of US men’s success but the Williams sisters should have helped.

[@asankajayaweera7212]

Wow! Well done Vox.

[@wilstewart5743]

Interesting video. In the case of other sports like association football (soccer), there are movements such as the European super league introduced by Anas Laghrari and John Hahn to cap player earnings at a certain percentage of club revenue, thus decreasing the amount players can make playing the game. Salary caps are a form of slavery. Should the executives who run the sport have better security than the players? Absolutely not. We pay to see the stars not Anas Laghrari or whatever his equivalent is in tennis.

[@loldatfunny]

Same with many other sports, olympic athletes, musicians, pro gamers, streamers etc not exclusive to tennis players

[@houseofleaves126]

Tennis generates more revenue than those

[@macomputersuck]

Musicians only get paid 12% of the revenue generated. On streaming services like Spotify, they make less than half a cent per stream

[@WillyJunior]

​@@macomputersuckdepends what kind of market you're aiming for. Music for TV/commercials earns royalties for the musician, generally 50% of what's due from the track being played (performed) on TV.

[@WillyJunior]

​@@houseofleaves126pretty bold statement and not really true

[@maiktendo6512]

If you Repent for your sins and have faith in Jesus and you shall have eternal life in paradise 🎉

[@durgaprasadsamantula699]

Good thing that they are talking about this pubilcly!

[@flintostopowich9874]

Eye opening. @vox @voxsports 2 questions. 1) How does tennis stack up against other individual sports like golf? 2) Although you widely talked about the problem, what was missing was the solution. What would you suggest that needs to be changed?

[@Lommy9999]

This is exactly what I was thinking while watching the US Open. How can the players afford to not earn a wage (from a regular job), have a big team, travel the world and make a living unless they are the top 10%. Not to mention the huge investment before they even start to earn anything. I think the top prizes should be lower and other players who pay a tournament should earn more.

[@mitsuhh]

Top prize money should be the same if not more. Players in general should just be earning a lot more

[@BrendonJP]

This is pretty simple. There’s not a true demand for people to watch tennis. Outside of the Williams sisters or roger, people aren’t actively tuning into the sport. It’s only gotten popular over the years bc celebs will go to the matches as a moment to show off. If there was one organizational body, then these players wouldn’t struggle

[@RockinFootball_23]

I think the problem is the viewership for non-grand slam tournaments is low. It doesn’t help that tournaments are held all over the world with time zones that are all over the place. I don’t think celebs are the only reason why people go. I am from Melbourne and the AO is a summer event that many people go, tennis fan or not. The tournament is also actively expanding to make a festival atmosphere to get more people through the gates even if they have no interest in the sport. There are all sorts of activities around the grounds such as playgrounds of the kids, live music etc.

[@BrendonJP]

@@RockinFootball_23 exactly. That’s a part of the problem. Because it’s an international sport, and there are thousands of tennis players, it makes total sense why tennis players struggle

[@nripenderhooda9891]

great insight into the world of tennis👋

[@stevyyjay85]

Not to mention that some players take or demand money before they agree to play a smaller tournament. I remember that Nadal requested something like $100,000 - 500k before agreeing to play a ATP500 tournament. Some tournaments can afford that, others cannot. Also, the prize noney we have today has increased so much in comparison to 30-40 years ago. I remember seeing Steffi Graf winning a GS tournament and the prize money was under $100k in the mid 1980s. And expenses were also pretty high even back then, flying to these events, staying in hotel, paying for your coaches etc. Nowadays, a GS win generated $2 million. Graf's prize money earnings: 1986 - 8 titles - #3 - $612k (0 GS) 1987 - 11 titles - #1 - $1,1m (1 GS) 1988 - 11 titles - #1 - $1,4m (4 GS) 1989 - 14 titles - #1 - $1,6m (3 GS) 1990 - 10 titles - #1 - $1,9m (1 GS) 1991 - 7 titles - #2 - $1,5m (1 GS) 1992 - 8 titles - #2 - $1,7m (1 GS) 1993 - 10 titles - #1 - $2,8m (3 GS) 1994 - 7 titles - #1 - $1,5m (1 GS) 1995 - 9 titles - #1 - $2,5m (3 GS) 1996 - 7 titles - #1 - $2,7m (3 GS) 1997 - 1 title - #28 - $230k (0 GS) 1998 - 3 tiles - #9 - $600k (0 GS) 1999 - 1 title - #3 - $1,2m (1 GS)

[@logancollins6299]

Their definition of ‘struggling’ is far different than my definition

[@edgardosace484]

most athletes (including tennis) who rely on individual effort and talent to earn a living have chosen a difficult path. being this kind of an athlete takes a lot of discipline and motivation to be successful. which most do not have, hence the failure to accomplish the goals he sets to achieve,. unlike athletes who are in a team and are paid guaranteed salaries, they thrive even in a supporting role..

[@The_Jazziest_Coffee]

discipline and motivation are key factors, but in reality it also comes down to financial backing too you won't always win, especially early on when playing in high level competitions, so you need a financial blanket to keep you from falling back

[@rph8704]

These individual sports don’t have leagues so there’s little structure and hence very lopsided payouts. Boxing, golf, swimming, etc all have this same issue.

[@eljanrimsa5843]

@@rph8704 I remember back in Boris Becker's days there was a Tennis-Bundesliga in Germany and second-tier players usually derived some form of small but stable income from playing there and representing their club.

[@user-rs8of8dn5b]

So heartbreaking 💔💔💔

[@antoniog2833]

Well done episode