One of this year’s Wimbledon qualifiers has opened up on the harsh realities of being ranked outside the world’s top 100. Taro Daniel is one of many players with high hopes of battling through the preliminaries and reaching the main draw at SW19. He is best known for beating Andy Murray in round two of the Australian Open three years ago.
Daniel pocketed £150,000 for reaching the third round in Melbourne but has also spent plenty of time saving his pennies. Many lower-ranked players often struggle financially due to travel expenses and the costs of hiring coaches and physios. Daniel spent years losing money each week and was forced to give up things he enjoyed in order to save a few quid.
In an interview with the Financial Times, he explained: “When I was younger, I even wouldn’t get the avocado on my Chipotle order because it’s like three dollars more. When you try to save too much it ends up impacting people’s games negatively.”
Daniel has won just over £135,000 in prize money since the beginning of the year, but various costs have eaten away at that figure. It has left him needing to pay a huge credit card bill every month just to cover essential expenses.
“First of all, you’re earning all of this money from foreign countries so they’re going to take all the withholding taxes,” said Daniel.
“Tournaments cover your hotel room, but they don’t cover your coach’s hotel room. My credit card statement, it’s at least $20,000 (£14,702) a month on just operational expenses of hotel, food, flights and not including the salaries I pay to my team.
“As a tennis player, you’re like a small company but having all your employees travelling all the time. [It’s] at least $100,000 (£73,518) per season for your basic level, not super experienced coach.
“Ten years ago, when I started, a lot of players would travel alone because the standards were not as high. Now, it would be very rare for someone to travel alone to a Grand Slam, for example.
“Everyone has a coach or trainer. They’re probably right on the red-black line. Even in a Slam, you’re not necessarily making money.”
Daniel will be hoping to boost his bank balance at Wimbledon, where a huge amount of prize money will be up for grabs. Players who reach the main draw will be guaranteed £66,000, even if they are knocked out in the first round.
Those who make it through their opening match will receive £99,000, which rises to £152,000 for players who reach the third round. The eventual champion will land a whopping £3,000,000, the biggest prize ever awarded in Grand Slam history.