Tennis is a game of inches, but for some players, the real battle is fought beyond the baseline. Taylor Townsend entered her first WTA singles quarterfinal at the Canadian Open with the hope of producing a masterclass performance. Sadly, the American fell short against Emma Navarro’s backhand slices and neat drop shots. However, that’s not the only unfortunate occurrence in Townsend’s list of recent troubles. The 28-year-old player’s “overwhelming” schedule has added another obstacle to fulfilling her future plans in tennis after the defeat!

“I guess you just gotta get lucky every once in a while right?” Townsend said after getting a second opportunity to perform in Toronto and creating a new career high ranking (No. 52). Townsend received a fortunate break when Yulia Putintseva withdrew from the Toronto WTA 1000 event due to a lingering knee injury. This opened the door for Townsend to enter the main draw as a lucky loser.

Despite a second-round qualifying loss, she managed a surprising run to the quarterfinals, extending her stay in Toronto far beyond her initial expectations. The unexpected depth of her tournament run left her with insufficient time to travel to Cincinnati and compete in the qualifying rounds there. This has led to Townsend candidly acknowledging the challenges faced by lower-ranked players on the WTA Tour.

On her social media handle, Townsend uploaded a video in which she talked about how she was thrust into a stressful scramble to reach her next tournament. “..I have to play at 5 o’clock tomorrow at Cincinnati. I feel very overwhelmed. It’s stressful trying to figure out how to get out of Toronto and how to get to Cincinnati. The only flight out of Toronto is like $1400 a person, and a layover, no matter what.”

Unlike top-ranked players who can afford private transportation and rely on sponsorship deals to cover travel expenses, lower-ranked athletes like Townsend(currently ranked 71) face significant financial challenges. After enduring these difficulties, the World No. 52, who was eliminated in the second qualifying round of Cincinnati last year, decided to pursue a different approach.

“So we ended up deciding to just get a car and drive to flying, which would be 6 and a half hours, unlike driving, which would be like 7 hours and some change. We are leaving at 9 and I’m gonna get to my hotel at 5 a.m. or maybe 6 a.m. and I will sleep in the car and just figure out a way to like to get my sh*t together and get myself together and play.”

This is not the first time that she has suffered from such financial struggles in her career. More than a decade ago, she had a difficult time continuing her tennis dreams because of the same problem.

Townsend describes her financial “struggle” during her early years in tennis

Many top athletes have faced financial difficulties in their careers, and even Novak Djokovic also falls on that long list. This is because most of the time, players have to cover their costs for their basic necessities, coaches, and travel expenses. When Townsend swiftly ascended to the top, little did she know that waiting for her was a challenging period in 2012. The American player plummeted to the 400s during that time and her financial hardships started rising.

“That was the time when I had to go back to playing at the really low-level events and I didn’t know how I was going to pay my bills. You really don’t see the struggle,” Townsend said in an interview. She found it difficult to meet the financial obligations of paying for her coach or her flights during a tournament. She has overcome those challenges now, but maybe not entirely.

Townsend’s courageous rant has sparked a crucial conversation about the unseen struggles in tennis. However, hopefully, she will battle with it again and we will find her in Cincinnati soon!