Stefanos Tsitsipas is charging his fans £5.99 a month to subscribe to exclusive Instagram content despite banking £25million ($32m) in prize money during his career.
The world No. 11 has amassed 1.9 million regular followers on the platform. But his decision to put some posts behind a paywall has upset his supporters.
He now shares extra stories and posts to those who pay for access and has also announced a giveaway livestream for his subscribers.
Tsitsipas recently took to social media to announce the giveaway and Q&A session – but fans will be charged if they want to watch and enter to win the prizes.
“I’m hosting an exclusive Off-Season Q&A tomorrow night on Instagram, and it’s going to be extra special for my subscribers,” the Greek star wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter), cross-promoting his platform.
There are huge rewards up for grabs. The top prize is “a free daily pass ticket to all four Grand Slams for one lucky viewer (for the whole year!).”
Another fan will win a signed Wilson racket while a full Adidas kit is also on offer. Tsitsipas will be going live on Thursday night for his small group of subscribers.
The 11-time title winner currently has just over 120 supporters paying for a subscription to the exclusive content on his Instagram account. One of them is his girlfriend, fellow tennis ace Paula Badosa.
According to Instagram, those subscribers can currently see two stories and three posts. With the upcoming livestream included, it means there are just six exclusive extras for those forking out, coming to £1 per piece of content.
While many creators take advantage of the subscription feature if they solely make money from social media, it’s interesting to see Tsitsipas get involved when he has made a total of £25m in prize money throughout his career and £2.7m this year alone.
That doesn’t include the money he gets for sponsorships. Tsitsipas is an Adidas and Wilson athlete and has commercial sponsorships with Rolex, Red Bull and Greek Pasta company Melissa among others.
Instagram does offer a 14-day free trial to subscribe to Tsitsipas’ restricted posts and live streams, so there is a chance for fans to watch and enter the giveaway without paying if they remember to cancel the trial in time.
But even some of Tsitsipas’ most loyal fans aren’t happy with his decision to put the giveaway and other extras behind a paywall. “stef, I’ve been your fan for 6 years and money won’t buy that. you should do for everybody, not just to those who are you subscribers,” @tsitsirwin replied.
@sollyu5 tweeted: “Stef, I am one of your devoted fans but I don’t think this is a good idea. Not all of your fans can afford it for financial or other reasons (paid subscription is not available in Russia). Does it make sense to split your fans by putting some above others?”
And @Tsitsipetra1 added: “I’m sorry Stef, this whole channel is a bad idea, creating a ‘private fanclub’ is discriminating against the many other fans who cannot or do not subscribe, some of whom already spending a lot of money/time to support you. Money/benefits don’t buy a true fan..”
Some of Tsitsipas’ followers have also pointed out a glaring error with his giveaway. While the Grand Slam grounds passes are a huge steal, there’s no indication that the costs to get to Melbourne, Paris, London and New York will be covered.
“Confused on the first one, you are offering a ground pass for 4 majors but the person gotta travel to Australia, Paris, London and New York? That’s a costly gift,” @Patkk151515 wrote.
@fugaziwoozie replied: “So the person has to buy a 2000 USD (times 4) trip to enjoy a 40 USD day pass?”
It remains to be seen how Tsitsipas’ giveaway goes down when he goes live on Thursday night. But it’s clear that even his biggest fans are feeling ignored and unappreciated when they try to raise their concerns about paying to see extra Instagram content.