Lower-ranked players receive much-needed boost in Paris

It’s been two months since professional tennis resumed after a five-month shutdown because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Unlike professional athletes in team sports such as football, who get paid a fixed salary whether they play or not, tennis pros are independent contractors, who pay for their own expenses, including travel, accommodation and coaching.

With players unable to make a living from tennis during the sport’s hiatus, the prize money hike at Roland-Garros this year for those losing in the first round or in qualifying is providing some much-needed financial boost for the lower-ranked players.

This year, prize money for first-round losers was lifted by 30%  to €60,000, while pay in the qualifying rounds went up 27% compared to last year.

“Any players who lose in the first round of the qualifying competition will take home a cheque for €10,000,” Roland-Garros organisers said last month. “The players competing in this event are those who have been the most affected by the Covid-19 crisis, financially-speaking.”

While the top stars of the sport make multiple millions of dollars in prize money and endorsements, it’s easy to think all tennis players make good money. The reality is somewhat different.

According to a 2014 survey of 8,000 athletes, coaches, national associations and tournament organisers by the ITF, players had to be ranked at least No. 336 on the men’s ATP Tour or No. 253 on the women’s WTA tour to start making money. The average annual cost of playing professional tennis was $38,800 (€33,107) for men and $40,180 for women, the ITF estimated.

As a result of the survey, the ITF strongly boosted prize money at the lowest levels of its professional tennis circuit. And in the past nine years, all four Grand Slam tournaments have also significantly increased prize money in their qualifying tournaments and the early rounds of the main draws in support of the lower-ranked players.

The increased pay in the earlier rounds can make a huge difference for some; especially in a year like this, where 17 of the 64 players through to the third round of the men’s and women’s singles draws are ranked outside of the top-100.

Take the 186th-ranked Daniel Altmaier, who will be guaranteed €126,000 ($147,620) in prize money after he beat his 30th-seeded compatriot Jan-Lennard Struff in the second round. The 20-year-old had made $173,639 in total career earnings before Roland-Garros.

Marcos Giron, a 96th-ranked American, will put his €84,000 prize money cheque for losing in the second round to good use.

“It’s really helpful to be able to invest in myself and know that I don’t have to count the pennies,” Giron told rolandgarros.com.

“Am I going to stay at the tournament hotel, or am I going to find an AirBNB?,” added the 27-year-old Californian, who broke into the top-100 last month, six years after he made the transition from playing college tennis at UCLA to the pros.

“Being able to invest in myself, and know that I can travel with coaches and maybe a physio, it’s really good to know that this in fact a viable way for me to make a living."

Giron made just $8,204 in 2016, when he was out for months following two hip surgeries. His pay has increased as his ranking climbed. Before Roland-Garros, he had made $258,915 so far this year.

Noah Rubin, a 233rd ranked American, had earned $48,019 in 2020 when tennis was suspended in March. His loss to the big-serving Croat Ivo Karlovic in the first round of qualifying in Paris, his first singles tournament since tennis resumed, boosted his annual earnings by almost a quarter.

“I’ve lost a decent amount of money this year, so any money that I am making from these tournaments, I am trying to save up right now,” Rubin told rolandgarros.com. “It’s been a tough year for everybody, you can’t really complain about money. Any money we can get is ideal.”