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4m agoIs success at top level tennis only for the wealthy?
13m agoIs Sinner ready for his semi-final against Djokovic?
3h agoWelcome to the Conversation
After 10 days of high drama in SW19 we’re approaching the final weekend of the Championships, Tumaini Carayol an answers your questions live
Bungalows asks: Is it possible for an ordinary person from a normal background to do well in these tournaments or do you have to be rich? The LTA needs to address why the UK has so few top players due to the lack of investment.
McFilmCritic asks: Jack Draper came from our local (underfunded) tennis club in Sutton, but this is getting rarer. British tennis players need more support or else only the rich hedge funded ones will have any chance.
JC2024 asks: How much does it cost to be a top 10/20 tennis player? You can see the career earnings for some singles players who have never won a grand slam, maybe reached quarters or semis at best, and it’ll be in the tens of millions. But how much of that do they need to spend - coaches, physios, flights, hotels, training facilities, food etc?
Tumaini: There are some players from ordinary backgrounds who succeed in this sport. I think the most prominent examples inside the top 20 are players like Naomi Osaka and Frances Tiafoe. Novak Djokovic’s family did not come from great wealth. However, there is clearly a reason why there are currently multiple billionaire heiresses, Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro, competing on the tour. Arthur Fery, of course, also comes from great wealth and Jack Draper’s father, Roger, was the chief executive of the LTA between 2006 and 2013. This is an incredibly expensive sport that requires hundreds of thousands of pounds of investment into players each year in order to fund coaches, equipment, travel costs and so many other things. Unlike other sports like football, where the talented players are eventually employed by teams, that investment does not stop when players first “make it”. This is a financially challenging sport for many players that even make it to Wimbledon. Players ranked outside of the singles top 100 are unlikely to break even. Great Britain is actually in an advantageous position compared to other nations due to the LTA’s resources. The LTA can invest in so many more players than other nations, so it speaks volumes that a large amount of British players still come from wealthy backgrounds. So many talented tennis players fall through the cracks because of how expensive this sport is.
Tumaini: There are some players from ordinary backgrounds who succeed in this sport. I think the most prominent examples inside the top 20 are players like Naomi Osaka and Frances Tiafoe. Novak Djokovic’s family did not come from great wealth. However, there is clearly a reason why there are currently multiple billionaire heiresses, Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro, competing on the tour. Arthur Fery, of course, also comes from great wealth and Jack Draper’s father, Roger, was the chief executive of the LTA between 2006 and 2013.
This is an incredibly expensive sport that requires hundreds of thousands of pounds of investment into players each year in order to fund coaches, equipment, travel costs and so many other things. Unlike other sports like football, where the talented players are eventually employed by teams, that investment does not stop when players first “make it”. This is a financially challenging sport for many players that even make it to Wimbledon. Players ranked outside of the singles top 100 are unlikely to break even.
Great Britain is actually in an advantageous position compared to other nations due to the LTA’s resources. The LTA can invest in so many more players than other nations, so it speaks volumes that a large amount of British players still come from wealthy backgrounds. So many talented tennis players fall through the cracks because of how expensive this sport is.
Emiemi asks: What’s your take on Sinner’s game going into the semi vs Djokovic?
Tumaini: I think the good news for Sinner is that he is serving at an incredibly high level this year and since his tough first round win against Miomir Kecmanovic, in which he served a career best 31 aces, he has not dropped a set. However, he has had a great draw, avoiding a seeded player until the semi-finals and his forehand has looked erratic at times. Djokovic, if he is in good shape after his marathon against Auger-Aliassime, will be a massive step up in level for Sinner and it will be the first true indication of his level, particularly the confidence he has in his forehand right now
