Tennis Forum banner

Breaking the bank - interview with Nicola Slater

3K views 35 replies 22 participants last post by  KasatkStan 
#1 ·
In prize money alone, Novak Djokovic pocketed more than $21 million in 2015. And let’s not forget his lucrative endorsement deals with ANZ, Peugeot, Seiko, Jacob’s Creek and HEAD. In August, Forbes Magazine rated Djokovic as the 13th highest-paid athlete in the world, estimating that his off-court earnings in 2014 hit a cool $31 million.

But while the bank balances of the likes of Djokovic, Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova are topped up even while they’re asleep, it couldn’t be further from the reality for the majority of professional tennis players.

Britain’s Dan Evans, well known among British tennis fans for his occasional Davis Cup heroics, ends the season ranked No.183 in the world and with prize money totalling $47,913. With career wins over players such as Kei Nishikori, Bernard Tomic and Philipp Kohlschreiber, the former world No.123 has been one of Britain’s more successful players since turning pro in 2006.

Evans, who won his first title in six years at the ATP Challenger event in Knoxville, USA, in November, collected $7,200 after beating American teenager Frances Tiafoe in the final. While his career prize money of $490,353 might sound like a higher-than-average salary for a decade’s work, the life of a tennis player is a nomadic one with high outgoings for travel, accommodation and other expenses.

The International Tennis Federation’s Pro Circuit Review, published in December last year, calculated players’ expenses to total $38,800 for male players and $40,180 for female players. Despite a combined prize money pool of approximately $282 million, the report found that the top one per cent (the top 50 men and top 26 women) earned more than half of that total prize pot. In fact, in 2013, only 3.7% of men and 5.2% of women made a profit from traveling on the professional circuit.

“There was only one tournament where I walked away with more than my expenses,” says Nicola Slater, who reached a career-high doubles ranking of No.167 in 2013. “And that was at Wimbledon in 2013. I have won six [ITF] doubles titles, among those a $75k and two $50k events, but expenses outweighed winnings. I didn’t play $10k events, firstly because winning it wouldn't give me enough points to move up even one spot in the rankings and, secondly, because the winners got $250 for doubles.”


The eldest of five children, Slater took on five jobs during her final year at school to fund a summer of tournaments, which ultimately earned her a tennis scholarship at the University of Southern Mississippi. The 31-year-old has been based in the US ever since, and after transferring to Florida State University, she graduated and turned semi-professional, earning money as a coach to subsidise her life on tour. However, the hours spent on court looking after her bank account came at a cost.

“When I was coaching all those hours I naturally wasn’t preparing and training correctly or resting the way I needed to,” said Slater, who was coached by Judy Murray as a junior. “Four torn ligaments in my ankle sent me to hospital and cost me all the money I’d saved up in 2009. Then knee surgery cost me everything I’d saved in 2012.”

In 2013 Slater went all in; she quit coaching and within a matter of months had climbed more than 700 places in the world rankings, winning a $75k ITF event in Nottingham and earning a wildcard for Wimbledon with Lisa Whybourn. Although they lost in the first round to French pair Alize Cornet and Pauline Parmentier, it was Slater’s biggest payday, collecting just under £4,000. That money was enough to pay her way on tour for three months, but she explains that controlling costs is a delicate balancing act.

“To keep costs down I stayed with host families as much as possible,” she recalls. “In the States, I would drive from tournament to tournament as much as possible, which was not ideal since a nine or ten-hour drive is rather exhausting. I’ve done 13-hour bus trips, stupidly alone one time in Mexico where I had a layover for two hours in Mexico City, something I didn’t realise was extremely dangerous until afterwards. I’d stay in bad areas because it was where the cheaper hotels were. I’d end up sleeping in my clothes and shower at the club because the hotels were undesirable when you try to keep costs down.

“I’d eat at cheaper places which meant food wasn't as healthy or good quality. As I got older though I ended up paying extra for those things because I realised it is important towards your success and although it costs more, it would help performance and in turn get me further in rounds and pay off that way.”

This year Slater turned to Pledge Sports – a crowdfunding platform that has helped tennis players from Europe, the US and Africa raise more than £60,000 – to finance one final spell on tour. Through donations from friends, family and total strangers Slater raised $5,300 which helped keep her on tour for nearly two months, during which time she reached the final of the Aegon Trophy in Surbiton with Tara Moore and played in the Wimbledon qualifying event, which proved to be her final match as a professional.

“I am done playing,” says Slater, who is now the director of College Smart, helping international players find tennis scholarships in the States as well as coaching 16-year-old American Taylor Bridges. “I didn’t have the money to continue and far too much credit card debt. I have no regrets but if I had the chance to change anything I would have given up coaching sooner. I’m not sure how I would have funded myself but coaching was a catch-22 situation.

“If crowdfunding had been around earlier in my career that would’ve made a big difference. I think if I’d been younger, people would have been more willing to help; it doesn’t look good when you're 30. I think when you’re 15 people are more interested. As a doubles player at 30 I think I still had another 10 or 15 years, but it's a tough sell.

“If someone said, ‘Here’s $150,000 to try and make it,’ I would absolutely go for it. I know I have the tools, it’s just the money. But I’ve learned my lessons and hopefully I can put them to good use to help others.”

Posted by: Jo Carter


Breaking the bank | Tennishead
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Excellent, excellent article. Interesting what she said about the coaching thing. I am doing the same right now, coaching and trying to play but as she said, coaching hurts your body more than training and as she said, you don't do the correct fitness and recovery and so on.

She said her biggest regret was not leaving coaching sooner. Maybe I really should quit coaching and teach high school social studies and train in the afternoons. Teaching history is much more lucrative and much less physically demanding than coaching. I dunno, we gonna see.
 
#3 ·
As I was reading through the article I was exactly thinking of your career Johnny, she was way too old when she gave up coaching, it is not your case and you still have a serious shot to it. My suggestion? Get rich or die tryin'.
My 2 cents.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Johnny Groove
#7 ·
Jean-Yves Aubone @jyaubone
Great read but ITF got survey wrong. Didn't ask what expenses would be if we actually traveled w/ coach full time.
 
#8 ·
Nicola Slater said:
“If someone said, ‘Here’s $150,000 to try and make it,’ I would absolutely go for it.
I’ll just leave this here:

New Tennis Panties x 728 (2 per day) @ $5ea = $3640

Sold on eBay unwashed x 728 @ $211ea = $153,640

Profit = $150,000

As long as she's good looking, should work.

:angel:
 
#9 ·
This week Nicola Slater's countrywoman of almost same age, Emily Webley-Smith (WR#428), lost her QR2 singles and then doubles R1 matches in Midland. Then she flew over 20 hours to Taiwan, arrives a day or hours before the earthquake there, and today lost her QR1 match in 1 hr & 40 minutes! 6 spots open for Qualifiers and she couldn't do it. She plays doubles and then moves on to next singles qualifying will probably be Kuala Lumpur. Her year started in Brazil at a couple of $25K events, she hasn't won a singles MD match yet and only 1 doubles match. The WTA site says she has won $228 in singles) and $98 from doubles for one of the Brazil tournaments.
How does she survive, Tennis alone isn't paying her bills that's for sure!
 
#12 ·
not only it doesn't pay the bills but it's actually an enormous expense.... yea read every day interview to every player, even in the lower echelons, one thing I'd always ask these players is who's actually financing them.
 
#14 ·
I've been following Slater's career for years and even though you have to admire her will, the girl is delusional about her skills. She's just not good enough to be a decent player and it's OK if she didn't care and wanted to make the most of her career, but at least don't whine about it and pretend to earn hundreds of thousands of dollars playing ITF tournaments only in doubles.
 
#16 ·
Good effort, but also very delusional in same way. It sounds like every player on tour want to be rich instantly, no matter if s/he is #100 in singles or #700 in doubles. That is not how it works, sadly or not.
Also, some of these data feel really out of place considering big part of prize money (slams mostly) were tremendously rising in past 4-5 years.
Yes, not everybody was paid really well, but there is a change, and more and more players getting paid better, even if they dont improve their ranking at all. Of course there will be always a line where players will earn less than they spend, but this is pushed by lower and lower on rankings each year. Years ago even players in top100 didnt make enough money, now that changed to top200. In couple years its going to be top300 hopefully. But this needs time, its not like a snap. Especially not for someone barely cracking top200 in doubles.

for example, here is a table how Year-End WTA Prize Money Ranking - including both singles and doubles earnings - changed just in couple years.

- top10 changes are irrelevant since fluctuation is too big with slam results and other big titles.
- 50-200 got huuuuge increase in last 4 years, mostly because Slam prize money.
- 200-300 moderate increase with some players getting into slams in doubles and qualies.
- below 300 it is only a small change.

for comparison dollar inflation in same period was like this:
 
#18 ·
She's not really saying she should have been paid more she's saying she couldn't maximise her potential because lack of funding meant taking shortcuts and compromising important things.

Em has spent years making a global network of coaches, (now ex) players, tournament officials, hotel owners etc... and host families that help with costs. She also usually does the sponsor pro ams etc... as you get a bit of money for those. She plays broadly thr same schedule every year with a few tweaks if tournaments are cancelled or if she wants to try a new country.
 
#20 ·
Nicola Slater said:
“If someone said, ‘Here’s $150,000 to try and make it,’ I would absolutely go for it. I know I have the tools, it’s just the money.
The International Tennis Federation’s Pro Circuit Review, published in December last year, calculated players’ expenses to total $38,800 for male players and $40,180 for female players.
While brainstorming my genius unwashed panty funding, this discrepancy escaped my attention. Why does she need almost 4x as much? :confused: $40k is a lot less panty sales - only 3.75 panty sales per week
 
#22 ·
ITF survey was about actual costs, not about the ideal world, where players would play anywhere they like, would be traveling with the coaches full time etc.

And it's average. It's one thing to spend six months in Sharm el Sheikh and it's a different thing flying to a different tournament every week.
 
#24 · (Edited)
As for similar extended reading for those interested here are a few similar and informative articles:

A low ranked Irish proffesionals tour:

Financing the Tour | Life as an Irish Professional Tennis Player

A player surviving through Grand Slam entries being in just the top 100:

Forbes Welcome


An couple of good articles on tenis costs that features CoCo and Bethany:

French Open -- The sobering reality of tennis costs

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/06/30/tennis/wimbledon-2015-tennis-pros-count-cost/

A good topic on tennis money:

http://www.tennisforum.com/12-general-messages/822730-tennis-has-income-inequality-problem.html
 
#28 ·
A career spent on the ITF circuit almost exclusively playing doubles is a financially fruitless exercise, alas. Has anyone else managed to last as long as Slater has? I suppose someone like Sandra Klemenschits is the closest example but at least she gets into the odd WTA event here and there (and nabs a win or two as well) and doesn't travel as much as Slater.
 
#30 ·
there's ATP players who've made millions playing CH doubles, not in prize money of course.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top