Windfall for Swiss top talents: coups in Paris make the treasury ring

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The success of breaking into the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time is invaluable for a talented tennis player. It’s everyone’s dream. A sporting milestone with enormous emotional significance. Whether you’re in Melbourne, Paris, Wimbledon or New York, you’re part of it, you’re playing in the concert of the truly great.

But it doesn’t just stop at the sporting and human component. The financial security that a professional gets from participating in a Grand Slam event is just as important. Especially since life on the tour – even at lower levels – is extremely expensive. Travel, accommodation, meals, equipment, physiotherapeutic and medical treatments and coaches: all this eats up a lot of money and requires many generous sponsors. Or prize money of a certain amount.

A total of 48.2 million Swiss francs will be paid out to the players at the French Open this year. That is more than twelve percent more than in 2022, which makes participation in the qualification even more lucrative. Players in 200th place can secure a starting spot there – and even earn more than 15,000 francs if they are eliminated in the first qualifying round. This happened this year with Leandro Riedi (ATP 176/21).

“A Huge Amount”

It then becomes very interesting for Ylena In-Albon (24), who this year was only participating in a Grand Slam tournament for the second time, but still won no less than 67,000 francs with her out at the start. “A huge amount that I’m not used to,” she says. The number 149 in the world has doubled the prize money of her current season in one fell swoop. She, who normally has to pay every franc of the tour, will “invest the money right back into her career”. The same goes for Dominic Stricker (20/ATP 116), who collected an equal amount as In-Albon through his first round.

Simona Waltert (22/WTA 128) has skimmed most of the youngsters so far. With her advance in round two, she is sure of 94,300 francs. That is a whopping 34,000 francs more than your spring premium total. If she succeeds in another round, 138,000 francs are already waiting.

When asked if she was treating herself to something special, the Graubünden native answered modestly: “A new mobile phone wouldn’t be bad.”

Source : Blick