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Ylena In-Albon watched with wide eyes a month ago when she took part in the French Open for the first time. The 24-year-old Walliser fought through qualification to the main tournament in Paris. Although she left there, she still earned 69,000 francs. “A huge amount”, as the number 160 in the world said afterwards. “Huge” for a player of her size, who stands on the threshold between smaller ITF leagues and WTA tournaments, representing the majority of current professionals in Switzerland. Although they belong to the (extended) world leaders, they often barely cover their own costs.
The example of In-Albon shows how important participation in Grand Slam tournaments is. Like Roland Garros, Wimbledon is paying out a new record prize money this year. In 2023 there will be a total of 50.88 million francs in London. Participation in the first main round alone is worth more than 62,000 francs.
If a pro makes the top 100 in the world (meaning a main draw) and can stay there, the four majors in one season already guarantee a solid basic income. Reassuring planning certainty, which is very rare in this sport and usually only applies to the very best.
Only: those who, like In-Albon, have not managed to get one of these coveted double-digit places in the world rankings, have to do something else. Travel, accommodation, food, equipment, physiotherapy and medical treatment – all this makes life on the tour extremely expensive. Let alone a coach or physiotherapist who travels with you all the time.
In Challenger tournaments, ie second level events for men, there is about 700 euros for a defeat in the first round. And In-Albon recently earned 1000 euros in Valencia at the small WTA 125 tournament when she started. If she had triumphed in southern Spain, the bounty would have been about 15,000 francs. In all cases described, the withholding tax must still be withheld.
Hüsler has increased the budget
Marc-Andrea Hüsler (27), number 83 in the world, currently the best ranked Swiss, adjusted his budget after his breakthrough last year. Compared to the Sunday view, the Zurich resident gives insight into his rough planning: “Before that I expected about 100,000 francs a year, now it’s about double.” This does not include the costs he would have to bear at home in Switzerland when he was not on tour.
Hüsler’s number roughly corresponds to the amount calculated by the Swiss federation a few years ago. At that time, Swiss Tennis came in at about 150,000 francs for a season, which “represented an average value for a highly individualized sport”.
The reason for Hüsler’s budget increase makes sense from a career point of view: if he wants to make further big strides and survive in the elite, ideal conditions are needed. For this he brought manager Ronnie Schildknecht on board, who does media work, among other things. He promoted fitness coach Thiemo Scharfenberger to head coach, who travels to all tournaments. He saves himself a physio, in return he uses that of the relevant tournament and thus also accepts that he has to wait longer for an appointment at the facility.
Hüsler says quite fundamentally: “I consider myself extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to invest in my career at all. That was only possible thanks to my parents and generous sponsors.” Since separating himself financially from Swiss Tennis, he is even more aware: “You always have to keep investing.” The same applies to him: if a bonus on paper seems high at first, it will be gone in no time.
Exceptional case Stricker plans at half a million a year
Stephan Stricker can sing about that too. The father of top talent Dominic Stricker (20) manages his career (planning). He calculates: “When Domi won the Challenger tournament in Prague in May, there was the equivalent of 9,600 francs in prize money. He had trainer Didi Kindlmann and a physio with him at the time. In general, those days were a minus of 10,000 francs for us.” Of course with an absolute integral cost price calculation.
With the current number 117 in the world, around half a million francs are planned for the year, meaning the up-and-coming professional at this level is an absolute exception in a national comparison.
Stricker, who won the junior title at the French Open in 2020, is also in high demand by sponsors. And they all have the same goal: that the young man from Bern will soon crack the top 100 and get off to a flying start. Stephan Stricker says: “We make it very clear to ourselves that we will invest over the next two years. Now decide where you want to go. Our strategy is: All-in!»
It’s exactly what Davis Cup captain and ex-Federer coach Severin Lüthi recently asked young players to do. He says, “It also shows me how firmly someone really believes in themselves.”
During basic training and often afterwards, Swiss tennis players can count on the support of the federation. Swiss Tennis annually invests CHF 700,000 in international tournaments held in Switzerland. In this way they guarantee local talents starting places and low travel costs.
Young players can train for free or at a good price at club level, explains Alessandro Greco, Head of Top Sports: “And at some point they have to set up their own start-up. And then someone is about to reach the top 300.” All in all, the association invests some three million Swiss francs in top sport “in a very flexible and service-oriented way” in all age groups.
“Money is not my main motivation”
Depending on the case, Swiss Tennis will then provide start-up financing. In the case of Jil Teichmann (25/WTA 129), for example, it involved about 50,000 francs per year – in addition to the mediation of a few sponsors. How high it is or over what period it is needed is considered individually. “With Roger Federer, nothing was needed after a year or two,” says Greco with a smile, adding: “We are very flexible in our concept because we don’t have as many players as larger countries.” For example, Stricker was appointed on mutually agreed terms to coach Sven Swinnen, but now the talent has to fend for itself.
Depending on the agreement, it may also be the case that a professional has concluded a payback contract with the association. In other words, he must repay part of the financial support provided for his start-up. “Up to 50 percent,” notes Greco.
This also shows that in order to make really good money in your career, you have to go very far. Father Stricker says, “From the top 20, it really starts to pay off for the future.” And Hüsler meanwhile emphasizes that it is basically about something completely different: “Money is not my main motivation in tennis. It’s still a passion for me.”
Source : Blick
I’m Emma Jack, a news website author at 24 News Reporters. I have been in the industry for over five years and it has been an incredible journey so far. I specialize in sports reporting and am highly knowledgeable about the latest trends and developments in this field.
