Why most tennis players struggle to make a living

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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
Watch our full video catalog: goo.gl/IZONyE
Follow Vox on TikTok: / voxdotcom
Check out our articles: www.vox.com/
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Опубликовано:

10 сен 2023

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Комментарии : 1,4 тыс.

@monsieur1936 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

shes made 4 mil and shes only 27

@Boollish 8 месяцев назад

@@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 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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

@jaredvaughan1665 8 месяцев назад

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

@daariashaheen6411 8 месяцев назад

Is this the reason why he is so hated ?

@grokker99 8 месяцев назад

If players are employees theyll have to follow employer rules.

@tylerdracing 8 месяцев назад

@@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 8 месяцев назад

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

@kpcvids 8 месяцев назад

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

@charlesmoxey8122 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

They’re lying, as usual.

@charlesmoxey8122 8 месяцев назад

@@bsktballman08 Proof?

@xfg007 8 месяцев назад

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

@kacemat 8 месяцев назад

@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 8 месяцев назад

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

@radityarian1533 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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

@impresssed1213 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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

@OedipusSimplex 8 месяцев назад

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

@alimfuzzy 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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

@alimfuzzy 8 месяцев назад

@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 8 месяцев назад

@@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 8 месяцев назад

@@ameykasar unfortunately, FIFA can answer that.

@RandyMahnke 8 месяцев назад

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

@lavaregion6968 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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

@parkercrossland410 8 месяцев назад

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

@lavaregion6968 8 месяцев назад

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

@xuxon24 8 месяцев назад

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

@parkercrossland410 8 месяцев назад

@@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.

@scpatl4now 8 месяцев назад

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

@steffen_drei 8 месяцев назад

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

@romanmir01 8 месяцев назад

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

@midknight 8 месяцев назад

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

@lavaregion6968 8 месяцев назад

@@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 8 месяцев назад

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

@TheCivilizedSavage5326 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

Strike!

@backto-il9ne 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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

@shiftt. 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

True

@The_Jazziest_Coffee 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

@@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 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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

@ptpaplayers 8 месяцев назад

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

@Maltamilkbone 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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.

@clintonsmith9189 8 месяцев назад

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

@Maltamilkbone 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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.

@rebekah.fisher4 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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

@janzy1980 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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

@TheMe9595 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

There is PTPA but voices in Tennis is too scattered.

@lobstertantrum9511 8 месяцев назад

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

@2531Prasad 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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

@dusko2494 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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

@alexxanbr1038 8 месяцев назад

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.

@tds7078 8 месяцев назад

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 7 месяцев назад

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

@matt9904 8 месяцев назад

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.

@gorankuk 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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

@ets160 8 месяцев назад

This is literally a PTPA supported video

@W4TSKY 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

wow man..

@radityarian1533 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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

@4end 8 месяцев назад

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

@dlcrme 8 месяцев назад

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

@userabn214 8 месяцев назад

Herbert Hurcaz is really nice person.

@brandon_den 8 месяцев назад

NGL he talks a little strange

@epointerwinboie 8 месяцев назад

@@brandon_denEnglish is not his first language

@TheebX92 8 месяцев назад

I heard he burned an orphanage

@StewNWT 8 месяцев назад

@@brandon_denhe’s polish

@brandon_den 8 месяцев назад

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

@olggg9740 8 месяцев назад

Great to see Hubi speaking out about the issue!

@seph9980 8 месяцев назад

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.

@nuke___8876 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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

@scorpioninpink 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

That's not going to happen.

@MonicaHolly143 8 месяцев назад

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

@Colonel_MaelRadec 8 месяцев назад

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.

@brian_meaney 8 месяцев назад

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

@nathangillingham5734 8 месяцев назад

Whatever he is, he's a legend

@serbianluqualizerskiingbio5821 8 месяцев назад

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

@jukukwakuattionu5080 8 месяцев назад

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 6 месяцев назад

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.

@lynnturman8157 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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.

@EighthRobin 8 месяцев назад

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.

@slobodankarapandzic3018 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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

@capor23 6 месяцев назад

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

@Zveebo 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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

@sabarinathan6554 19 дней назад

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

@sabarinathan6554 19 дней назад

@@michaeladkins6 i don't get it

@Paligirl19999 8 месяцев назад

A sad reality and tennis is a class sport.

@knav5216 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

@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 8 месяцев назад

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

@knav5216 8 месяцев назад

@@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 8 месяцев назад

@@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. 😆

@mridulsahu687 8 месяцев назад

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

@larrybranchii 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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

@ohgin12345 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

@@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 8 месяцев назад

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

@ohgin12345 8 месяцев назад

@@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

@Oh_that_mle 8 месяцев назад

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.

@bulelanibotman 8 месяцев назад

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

@nitsuj6801 8 месяцев назад

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

@mitsuhh 8 месяцев назад

What's your rank?

@nitsuj6801 8 месяцев назад

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

@KamlikeHam 7 месяцев назад

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. 👍🏻

@sandster 8 месяцев назад

Thank you Vox for bringing attention to this.

@bydariopoggi 8 месяцев назад

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

@ricardiocka 8 месяцев назад

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.

@msmilesftw 8 месяцев назад

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

@Danielevans2 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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

@Simon.Freund 8 месяцев назад

Really glad to see Vox bringing this to light!

@jairomejia616 8 месяцев назад

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

@catlikearcher9955 8 месяцев назад

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

@BeginnerHoops 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

You need a LOT of money to even get near F1

@plumpelstiltskin 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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

@wiscadams 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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

@cyriljohns 7 месяцев назад

Kudos to Vox for bringing this out!

@rajanmithrau6019 8 месяцев назад

Such a well made video! Great job team Vox.

@midknight 8 месяцев назад

Absolutely brilliant report. Thank you for this

@jkjkjk100 8 месяцев назад

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.

@user-lf2nt6sc8f 7 месяцев назад

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

@esborg 8 месяцев назад

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

@TannerTownsend 8 месяцев назад

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.

@gatorf2 8 месяцев назад

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!

@Grapevin 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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

@ISpitHotFiyaa 7 месяцев назад

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.

@Tjd1982 7 месяцев назад

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 7 месяцев назад

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

@VARMOT123 8 месяцев назад

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

@Lommy9999 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

Most athletes back then worked side jobs.

@btimec5290 8 месяцев назад

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

@darrylgrigg3264 7 месяцев назад

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.

@edleung4046 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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

@logancollins6299 8 месяцев назад

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

@tompike7239 8 месяцев назад

I never realised this as a fan. People need to know this and it needs to change.

@donli5457 8 месяцев назад

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.

@vlogtheory4016 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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

@Loyola86 8 месяцев назад

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.

@AndreaBioko 8 месяцев назад

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

@Bimbimbambam282 8 месяцев назад

editor and graphics designers of this video - are just at the top level

@Rubbabandman 8 месяцев назад

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

@darkmatter5424 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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

@balajir9110 7 месяцев назад

Thanks for the update...

@bluetrip_ 8 месяцев назад

Really happy a significant organization covered this. It's ridiculous.

@savagepro9060 8 месяцев назад

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

@justinn8410 8 месяцев назад

One actually makes revenue.

@aliop5762 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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

@jugurthasyphax6341 8 месяцев назад

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.

@drandrewtan 7 месяцев назад

Great video, Vox!

@Atombender 8 месяцев назад

"Tennis is a sport where you don't get paid if you don't play." ~Mark Philippoussis.

@daveblack6951 8 месяцев назад

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

@jdalbion 8 месяцев назад

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.

@hanve 8 месяцев назад

Thanks vox for making such content to enlighten us. Man i really thought that tennis player always make handsome money but reality is grim😢

@SamMontoia 8 месяцев назад

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.

@EveloGrave 8 месяцев назад

"Why most tennis players struggle to make a living" I work a job that isn't entertainment and I struggle to make a living.

@pvnh1704 8 месяцев назад

How did you make this about yourself lol

@Lommy9999 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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

@JoeKovacic 8 месяцев назад

Tennis Players must go on strike and shut down the profits generated by these predatory Tennis organizations, until such time as they can negotiate a better compensation for all the players.

@nathanngumi8467 8 месяцев назад

Very informative!

@loldatfunny 8 месяцев назад

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

@houseofleaves126 8 месяцев назад

Tennis generates more revenue than those

@macomputersuck 8 месяцев назад

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

@WillyJunior 8 месяцев назад

@@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 8 месяцев назад

@@houseofleaves126pretty bold statement and not really true

@maiktendo6512 8 месяцев назад

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

@gbrl433 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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

@OneAdam12Adam 8 месяцев назад

Thank you for spelling out the inequities in the sports world.

@durgaprasadsamantula699 8 месяцев назад

Good thing that they are talking about this pubilcly!

@wilstewart5743 8 месяцев назад

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.

@Porthos240 8 месяцев назад

I just recently learned about this. Didn't know it went this deep! Thanks vox.

@robinhoodieradio3394 7 месяцев назад

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.

@LurkerPatrol5 7 месяцев назад

As a huge fan of tennis growing up, I realize only now why my friends and coaches were all saying not to go into professional tennis.

@smartskater11 8 месяцев назад

The thing is... This is not a situation that is unique to tennis. This is a problem with many other sports as well.

@darexinfinity 8 месяцев назад

I think it's harder to see when comparing Tennis is US professional sport leagues. No other country (soccer excluded) pays that well for sports.

@stolenshortsword 8 месяцев назад

ok and?

@AN-bw7im 8 месяцев назад

Then name those sports

@greg_loper 8 месяцев назад

I hear very similar things in Snooker. Professional Disc Golf is far, far worse. The top earning PDGA player grossed $105,000 this year. Top prize for the world championship was $30,000 this year.

@AN-bw7im 8 месяцев назад

In those cases, the total amount of revenue brought in by the sport is much lower than in tennis. The issue with the pay gap for tennis players, from my understanding, is that total revenue brought in from the sport isn't fairly distributed to players compared to other big-name sports@@greg_loper

@edgardosace484 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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 8 месяцев назад

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 7 месяцев назад

@@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.