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the true cost of being a professional tennis player (from an insider)

elliemajelly

100,291 views

tennis is one of those unique sports that millions of people play and watch, yet only the top 100 in the world are making a profit. as an insider into the sport, i see the breakdown of these costs every single day. so how much does it actually cost to be a professional tennis player? let's chat about it

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20 Comments

@MontCoRealtor 4 months ago

I love the fact that you are ride or die with him and helping keep him grounded and comfortable. His ranking jumping up (or down depending how you look at the number), is ABSOLUTELY partially due to you. A good woman that helps you stay balanced and happy can do more for a man than the best trainers alive. Good for you and well wishes to you both.

@Remissus 4 months ago

Thank you for this. Incredibly informative and reveals a side of tennis which many people are ignorant to.

@takipappas 4 months ago

I have played, taught and continue to follow tennis and will say this; after playing all types of sports throughout my life, there is no question that tennis is the most difficult to maintain and succeed in and changes have to be made with respect to compensation. Whether someone is top ten or top 150, the have my respect!

@moze2324 2 months ago

thanks for this. Tennis is truly one of the most cruel demanding sports ever, it takes so much grind, grit and hard work to even get into the top 100

@petersapira917 4 months ago

It is an unsustainable system - anyone outside the top 100 cannot make a living - and that's not including the hundreds of thousands of dollars it takes to get to that level.

@williamford9564 4 months ago (edited)

13:43: Regarding Grand Slams in the singles, making it into the main draw guarantees a check of $84,000 US dollars up to $110,000 ( the US Open) ( 2025). Getting into just one main draw would pay the vast majority or all of the annual costs for many players. That is why the qualifiers for the Slams are so EXTREMELY COMPETITIVE ( and cut throat????). There is a WTA player I follow who in 2024 never cracked the Top 125, but qualified, got to the main draw of the US Open, won her first round match and walked away with $140,000 in second round money. It is extremely unlikely that a player not qualified for the main draw ( generally in the Top 100 give or take a few places) would qualify for all "four main draws. That would mean going 12-0 in the qualifiers.

@ReidVV 4 months ago

Tennis is not built for anybody to make a living at that's the biggest reason why most athletes don't choose tennis instead of the other bigger sports that pay more money if you're good enough to even sit on the bench in any kind of professional team you make more than sometimes even the top players in terms of actual money won from the tournament. Most of the top players make most of their money from sponsorship deals. Players that don't win tournaments and don't have sponsorship deals basically don't make a living they are living in the red

@YouTubeChannel-rn2os 4 months ago

You're incredibly genuine. Thank you for this video.

@KrishnenduKes 4 months ago

Fantastic video though I knew most of the information. But it is good that people are speaking about the top heavy nature of tennis.

@milanmujovic788 3 months ago

It is actually interesting to learn about the life and journey of the lower ranked players on the tour. This lady is so impressive in enthusiastic support of her boyfriend that seems to be losing more than he is winning, that is so cool.

@vladyslavdiumin4124 4 months ago

Such an incredible, well-explained breakdown! It really changes how you look at the sport. Love the honest behind-the-scenes look—good luck to James on the tour! 🙌🎾

@Remyl0.0l 4 months ago

First time your channel shows up on my recommendation. Quality stuff I hope more engagement drives the conversations around the lower ranking players and support for you guys!

@josephaaron4749 3 months ago

This needs more views I’m also so glad you’re talking about this. We hosted a tennis player at our house here in the U.S. it’s just bad and the ATP should do something about this

@naomilambert4994 4 months ago

You are very informed and we enjoy your analysis

@TheTeeProd 4 months ago

great video and actually very informative. Another topic/series that might be interesting to do is "bottleneck" in tennis. I think this is a subject thats kind not talked about enough. like what determines how much a human tennis player can achieve ? are there still discoveries to be made on a pedagogical level (coaching and techniques), are there some coaches that have some secrets others dont to get better quickly. Or we reached a plateau and its all about genetics + early childhood development etc ... because even Sinner at some point was losing to everyone , but what happened during that one year where he transformed into this machine and why other players cant continue developing in that way. maybe interviewing other coaches about that topic .. anyway whatever you do great job , we're rooting for you

@melanieruawai3363 4 months ago

Thanks for the video, Ellie. Being able to reach Challenger level and above as a professional is far more difficult than it seems, to a sports fan. Getting there is definitely a combination of hard work, skill, talent, consistently injury free good health and a reasonably generous chunk of good luck, too.

@joselynruiz-n3t 4 months ago

This is incredibly well put together. 💕

@Sinnerisgoat 4 months ago

Fun fact tennis is in the top 5 Least paying for revenue sport, I plan to go pro in 3-4 years except i plan to lose money not gain, am gonna get a online job while on tour.

@lukehuskorhusakiwsky8230 2 months ago

Such an informative video! My dad used to play pro so it was so interesting to hear the realities of that! Thanks!!

@MA-rq6ie 4 months ago

Tennis is one of those rare sports in which the ones that have the means suceed and not the ones that are good and talented. Not saying that talent and hard work dont pay off but here the first and foremost thing is the means to travel, have gear and compete, then comes the talent.