Imagine this: you’re sitting in your air-conditioned room, a chilled drink in hand, watching tennis. The sun’s blazing outside, but you’re cool and comfortable, enjoying the match. You see the players on screen, in their designer outfits, staying in luxurious hotels, traveling the world. It’s easy to assume that they live a life of unending luxury, far removed from the reality most of us know. But what if someone tells you that this picture-perfect image is only part of the story? Enter Conor Niland, the former Irish tennis pro, who’s pulling back the curtain on what life is really like on the tour.

The 42-year-old released his book, “The Racket” in early June this year. The best-selling book deals with the crude reality of the tennis world and highlights the treatment that many low-ranked players are met with as they desire to pave their way into the top names of the sport. To justify this, he recalled a conversation with his father about earning a lot of money from the sport. While the interaction was humorous with Niland’s dad making cheeky remarks, it definitely made the Irish star think about his achievements. 

Writing in the book, Niland expressed, “By the end of my career, my total earnings added up to $247,686. Spread it across seven years, tax it, and deduct the flights, the trains, the hotels, the coaching … Let’s just say I didn’t come away from the game with a nest egg.” Continuing further, he revealed that top-ranked players like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic have made earnings of more than $100 million, thanks to their wins and endorsements. “Federer became the sport’s first billionaire,” Niland wrote further.

A majority of Federer’s fortune came from his endorsement deals. The Swiss Maestro moved on with his partnership with Nike in 2018 and signed a lucrative deal of $300 Million with the sportswear company, Uniqlo. Add this to his earnings from the matches that he won and the other deals he closed. Federer went on to become the only billionaire in tennis history in 2022. And the former Irish player further revealed how. 

Niland wrote, “Players at that level also receive quiet seven-figure appearance fees at certain ATP tournaments because the organizers can see no tournament worthy of the name without them.” But, the scenario is different for the players who are still making a name for themselves. “The rest of us have to pay to enter the tournaments…Travel, accommodation, coaching, physio, clothing, equipment, and entry fees combine to make the expenses punishing.” While this was enough to break the hearts of many tennis enthusiasts, the further revelation makes it worse. 

Niland recalled the cruel reality that doubles specialist Ivan Dodig faced. “Six-time Grand Slam doubles champion Ivan Dodig of Croatia once slept under a bridge at a tournament early in his career because he couldn’t afford a hotel.” Dodig’s story is full of such happenings. During his struggling phase, the tennis star was forced to sleep under a bridge, at railway stations, and even in his friends’ car since he was financially unstable. This fact was in fact shared by Andy Murray as well as the two met in a clash at the 2012 US Open. But Dodig is not the only player to have faced this. 

“In 2021, French player Sara Cakarevic posted her payslip from a $25,000 Futures event on Instagram, and showed that her prize money minus entry fee, a fine and tax totalled a cool €2.25. Yes, that decimal point is in the right place.” But Niland’s concern is not just related to finances.

Niland exposes another stressing factor for budding players

While Niland might have failed to attract the tennis community with his skills and rankings, having a career-high rank of 129, his book is definitely doing the needful. In the same book, he revealed the challenges he faced ahead of his matches, especially when he used to travel alone.

Niland revealed that there was no one to warm him up ahead of matches, and that made him desperately approach players with whom he never talked. “I once opened with, “I’m good, I promise” – admittedly sounding quite desperate. Failing that, I would write “Conor Niland + looking” when signing up for a practice court in the referee’s office and hope someone would write their name beside mine.”

Niland’s book highlights the dark side of the sport. The reality is far more than what can be seen on the screens or the courts. As the sport evolves, one can only wish the situation to become better, if not the best.