"1 month, you can earn up to $3 million and some months you don't even make $50,000" - Daniil Medvedev on tennis economics
World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev recently opened up about the financial uncertainty that most professional tennis players face. According to the Russian, traveling with a full-time coach and physio to tournaments around the world can be "quite expensive."
The amount a tennis player earns depends entirely on their results at a particular tournament, making their financial status highly unpredictable.
In a recent interview with Tinkoff Investments, Medvedev discussed this uncertainty at length. The Russian pointed out that while a player can earn up to $3 million in a month, there is also a possibility that they might not even make $50,000 the next month.
Medvedev also highlighted the fact that expenses towards coaching staff will always remain the same, irrespective of how much a player earns in a particular month.
"To be quite honest, in one month, you can earn up to $3 million. When, for example, you win a Grand Slam tournament. And some months, you don't even make 50,000. And the expenses are fixed. A certain amount of money is spent to support the team. There is a coach, a fitness trainer, sometimes doctors and physiotherapists," said Medvedev.
Medvedev feels that money spent on accommodation and flight tickets also burns a hole in the pockets of the players. He conceded that players could save money by traveling without an entourage, but in the same breath pointed out that it would impact their results
Daniil Medvedev as US Open Champion, it's:
💪 1st Grand Slam title
💪 1 set lost
💪 Champion on his 3rd final
💪 13th career's title
💪 6th title on hard courts
💪 3rd Russian Grand Slam champ after Kafelnikov and Safin
💪 3rd player to beat a Big 4 member in a Slam final https://t.co/T666hcdCN1
"All this is quite expensive, because you have to pay for tickets and accommodation, for example. Apart from that, everyone has a fixed salary and a percentage according to performance. Theoretically, you can travel without a team or coach, but then you will not get any results," added the World No. 2.
Daniil Medvedev reportedly earned $13.9 million between August 2020 and 2021
According to Forbes, Daniil Medvedev earned a total of $13.9 million from August 2020 to August 2021, making him the seventh highest-paid tennis player in that period.
Most of the Russian's on-court earnings during this period came from his triumph at the ATP Finals in 2020, as well as his run to the final of the 2021 Australian Open. Off the court, Medvedev had lucrative endorsement deals with Lacoste, Bovet, and Tinkoff Bankalso among others.
.@tecnifibre day today 😊🎾 with Daniil Medvedev. #FightSmart https://t.co/hVcpMUgV6t
Despite his on-court success, Medvedev's earnings pale in comparison to the Big 3. Roger Federer amassed a whopping $90.6 million despite playing just five tournaments in 2021, while Novak Djokovic earned $38 million.
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