“They Currently Don’t Have an Income” – Serena Williams on Plight of Tennis Players

As the tennis season remains suspended for more than two months now, the players at the lower-echelons are struggling to make a living during the coronavirus pandemic. Former World No.1 Serena Williams also admitted the harsh reality of tennis.

Ever since the sport came to a halt, the 23-time Grand Slam winner has kept herself busy with her business and motherhood. However, she also contributed to various charity events to help those affected due to the global health crisis.

“It’s kind of really scary for a lot of players” – Serena Williams

While Serena does not have any idea when the tour will resume, she knows that tennis is one of the hardest-hit sports due to the deadly virus. She admitted that a lot of players are not able to make ends meet. The American also raised a question on how to make things better for these players.

“I am just as curious as everyone and the sport has been really affected. We have people out here in our sport that live to play tennis. So they currently don’t have an income because if they’re not playing and getting paid to go to these tournaments. They don’t have an income so it’s kind of really scary for a lot of players,” Williams told Aryeh Bourkoff on the KindredCast vodcast.

“I’ve been playing for well over two decades. So I’m in a different position but if you just started out it’s not a great place to be in. It’s a lot of things that bring a lot of questions now what’s going to happen or this could happen again or those players prep for it. So how do you make things better for the players who inevitably are the content that tennis has,” she concluded.

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Although the governing bodies of tennis along with the top 100 players recently raised over $6 million to help lower-level players, the livelihoods of these players are still on the borderline. We hope the top authorities of tennis find a permanent solution to make things better for the lower level professionals.

With the livelihoods of lower-ranked players and broadcasting deals on the line, the authorities are considering the possibility of playing behind closed doors.