My goal of entering Junior Wimbledon is still on track, but researching the prize money on the ATP Tour has scared me into not quitting my office job just yet. The chart below shows Australian Open prizemoney, and how many players receive each payout. Although getting beyond the fourth round earns you over $100,000, most will receive a pittance. Bomb out in the qualifying and you'll be living off $2,860 until the next tournament. That's barely enough for an airfare and accommodation and equipment costs. Even reaching the second round is worth only $33,000. You're not going to be able to afford a full-time coach. Your only hope is to be super-hot or incredibly promising, and thus worthy of sponsorship from some company.
Touring the world hitting yellow bouncy things would seem a dream job, but for all save the top 100, it's a lousy decision. It doesn't seem fair when you compare tennis to equally popular sports like football or basketball, with tens of thousands of professionals around the world earning huge amounts, whereas only 100 tennis players can make a living playing full-time. Boo hoo.
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| Australian Open prize-money 2012. Numbers of recipients are along the bottom. |
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