A parent's perspective on what life is really like for a player trying hard to make it in the pro world. The good, the bad and the reality of life on the pro tour – starting at the bottom.
Tennis players are constantly on the move and there is a limit to the amount of kit they can carry so one of the most frequently asked questions at tournament venues (speaking solely from experience of womens events), is ‘where is the nearest laundrette?’ Unlike the players at the top end of the tennis tour, the majority of players cannot afford to get their kit laundered at their hotel and to be honest, not many 2/3 * hotels offer such a service anyway, so it is the local laundrette that gets the custom!
If the tournament is in a hot country and the accommodation has a balcony then some players will choose to wash their own clothes and hang them out to dry, but if there is a laundry nearby then that’s where you will find many players during their time off court. It’s a sharp learning curve for players who are new to the tour with many having to visit a laundrette for the first time in their lives, but it soon becomes a routine exercise during each tournament week – find a laundry then sit and watch the washing go round for a couple of hours! After all, there is a limit to the amount of clothes you can pack and the number of times kit can be worn before a wash is required – especially during the clay court swing when kit gets very dusty and stained as well as sweaty!
Some tournaments (typically on the WTA tour) offer a laundry service which is usually quite affordable. The players bring their bag of dirty kit to the club and it is returned next day clean and fresh smelling. On the ITF tour however, there is no such luxury and it is either hand washing, or a local laundrette or laundry service. The players do however, take a risk as it is not guaranteed that all the kit will come back or if it does, not all the kit that is returned may belong to the player concerned, as let’s face it, the person who does the laundry has no clue what belongs to who! So a detailed list of the items handed in is always advised! If the player does do the laundry themselves then try and spot the rookie who has put all the kit in together (colours and whites) and has ended up with a lot of light grey or pastel pink socks, or the player who didn’t read the care label and has to wear kit several sizes too small as a consequence of using a tumble drier that was too hot!
This is the reality – life on tour is not all nice hotels and people doing all your chores for you – laundry is high up there on the weekly task list before a player moves on to the next competition and is another cost item to be included on the extensive budget sheet.
It’s a well known fact that tennis is an expensive sport. Racquets, balls, court hire, kit, shoes – none of these come cheaply – but neither do grips!
Pro players can get through a number of grips each match – depending upon the temperature in which a match is played and the amount of sweat the player produces. A damp or wet grip reduces the players ability to hold the racquet securely and it is not uncommon to see players replacing grips during the change of ends time. In hot and humid countries especially, grip changes are a frequent occurrence and players have been seen to put their used grips out to dry in the sun before simply turning them over and using them again – especially on the lower levels of the tour where every penny counts and grips need to be used more than once.
Grips may seem like a minor part of a tennis players armoury but you would be surprised how particular players are, and understandably so – after all what suits one may not suit another. But however trivial you may feel this part of a tennis players equipment is, grips are just another cost to add to a tennis players already extensive expense sheet with each one costing anything from £1.50-£2.00. So in an average competition week, even at the lower tour level, a player can spend anything from £10 to £20 on grips alone, which over the course of a year can amount up to £350-£700!
Now, for sure, the higher a player rises on the tour, the more likely she is to receive free grips from her racquet provider, but this cannot be assumed and players need to remember to include this seemingly minor piece of equipment in their figures when preparing their budget for the year ahead! Tennis (like many sports) is expensive – that’s the reality!
If you have watched any pro doubles tennis matches, you will for sure have seen the players discussing tactics behind guarded mouths (to avoid being lip-read) and hand signals being displayed by the person at the net to the person further back in the court. These signals will be communicating what the intentions are for that particular point – serve out-wide and the poach, for example. But a word of warning – be careful as sometimes this information can be relayed to your opponents! Yes, you did read that correctly! There are players out there who are so desperate for the win that they will ask a coach/support team member to convey the signals whilst you are on court. I have seen this with my own eyes and rarely is it picked up by the officials.
This happened only recently with my player. She and her partner were highly seeded and were playing an early round match which ordinarily would not have been too challenging. However, right from the start the opponents seemed to know what my player and her partner were doing – where they were going to serve the ball and how the player at the net was going to move. The opponents were non-english speaking and one in particular was conversing with her coach each time she was at his end. Now if questioned by the umpire, I have no doubt that the player would have said that the coach was merely giving words of encouragement, but the sceptic in me thinks otherwise, but either way, there was no doubt that either verbally, or by the use of hand signals, the coach was conveying vital information to his player, as she knew every time where the serve was going to go and could therefore place her return in the optimal position.
Fortunately on this occasion, my player and her partner cottoned onto this behaviour and had their own suspicions, so the hand signals stopped and instructions were whispered quietly instead. Then funnily enough the match changed and they cruised to a win and the next match of the tournament whilst the opponents went home. So beware! Advise your player(s) to quietly verbalise their plans/strategy just in case there is someone in the stands transferring information to the opposition. It shouldn’t happen but it does. Some players like to cheat – that’s the reality and unfortunately that will never change – but being aware of the possibility of this happening is the first step in thwarting such behaviour.
It’s January. It’s -5 deg C outside (23 deg F), -1 deg C inside (30 deg F). The tournament is being held indoors but the walls are metal and there is limited cladding on the inside. The courts are cold. The air is cold. The players are cold. The officials are cold. There is no heating and as a result the balls are hard and like bullets, and the rallies extremely short. This is no indoor tennis venue with bright lights and climate controlled heating. This is Sunderland in the UK and we are just lucky that it isn’t raining, as when that happens the umpires are given towels to wipe the lines, and buckets are strategically placed around to the courts to catch the water dropping from the roof. Welcome to the reality of life on the tour for the majority. Breakpoint this is not!
Now of course, a player can choose where she plays her events but at this time of year the options are limited and choices have to be made according to the budgets available. This month the alternatives are in India, Argentina, Florida, Thailand and Guadaloupe, but the cost of flights to these locations, at this time of year, are not cheap and many players simply cannot afford them. So the UK, or France, or Portugal are where many of the players head, armed with winter coats and plenty of layers, oh and not to forget copious amounts of hand cream to try to prevent those nasty cold weather splits in the skin on fingers and thumbs – it’s not easy to play when you thumb is throbbing because of a cut caused by the cold. Don’t forget hands are a part of a player’s tool box. They need to be looked after, and whilst a player can wear gloves off court, to try and play with them on is a non starter.
The graft at the lower/mid range of the tennis tour is tough and the players (and spectators) cannot wait for the warmer weather and the outdoor events. This week the air in the tennis centre in Sunderland is frosty and whilst the cafe is warm and buzzing, the courts are like a fridge and you can visibly see the coaches recoil when their player gets called to court, because they know they are in for a good couple of hours of cold therapy! Roll on the summer……..
As made famous by John McEnroe, the words “you cannot be serious” are heard all too often on the tennis tour. Despite the introduction of Hawk Eye and electronic lines calls at the Grand Slams and higher level events, the majority of tournaments on the tour, especially at the Futures level, are reliant on the human eye for line calls, be this the eyes of the players themselves or those of an umpire sitting in a chair slightly raised above the court.
Often in the qualification rounds of the $15k and $25k events, the players themselves are responsible for the line calls, which can be contentious at times, as some players who are so keen to win, can make some very questionable calls. However, as the events rise up in value (in prize money and ranking point terms) there may be a chair umpire and one line judge, until the higher levels (the higher Challenger events) where there are officials covering all the lines.
Now, having a line judge and chair umpire should surely be a good thing? But ask any player and you will hear horror stories of line judges/umpires who appear to have hugely defective vision and or poor judgement. I don’t know of any player who cannot recount at least one (probably many more) incidents where matches have been won or lost as a result of questionable line decisions or poor umpiring in general.
Losing a match because of poor umpiring or line calling shouldn’t happen (at any level) but it does and all players need to be able to handle this, by not getting angry, remaining focused on the job in hand, and being at least a little accepting of the fact that people make mistakes. This is hard though as a match lost due to poor umpiring/line calls means lost income and lost opportunities.
Some umpires/line judges are aware of their mistakes but others will adamantly deny them. Now I am not sure which is worse, an umpire who makes one or two mistakes (which cost a player a match) but vehemently denies any wrong doing, or an umpire who makes mistakes and then admits his/her errors to a player after the match has been lost (yes, this does happen!). Either way, players need to be aware that bad calls are going to happen and not let a bad call ruin an opportunity. But similarly, umpires and line judges should (in my opinion) always take their responsibilities very seriously, be accurate in their work at all times, and be fully aware of the fact that mistakes cost players much needed income and valuable ranking points. Players careers are on the line and line judges/umpires should always be aware of this and make sure that they are fully alert and medically fit (regular eye sight tests) at all times. One small lapse of concentration or a guessed call can turn a game around and negate all the hard work a player has put in to get to the match in question. Players should win or lose matches because of their own performance not because of poor officiating.
When I started this series of blogs I had no idea if anyone would read them or if there would be any interest in the ramblings of a ‘more mature’ tennis parent, recounting her experiences of travelling on the tennis tour with a player. But I was wrong and the blogs have now had almost 9,000 views and I am extremely grateful for every single one of them.
Writing the blogs has been quite cathartic for me. Travelling with a player can indeed be stressful and the blogs are my own form of therapy! If they also entertain, enlighten and educate then that is a bonus.
There are over 70 blogs now for you to read and refer to and hopefully, combined, they will give you an insight into what it is really like on the tennis tour for the majority of players. It is certainly not all first class travel, nice hotels and sunny climes. Such conditions are far from the reality and are things that most players dream about!
As Amanda Anisimova recently said:
“I think alot of people who follow us on social media or watch tennis casually, they really don’t understand it fully. I don’t think anyone does unless you are in it, just how overwhelming and difficult it can be. You lose in a tournament and then you have to buy tickets and pack your all your stuff and fly the next day and you’re so exhausted from your match and upset. It’s always like that, it’s a constant cycle. It can be very draining and isolating.”
And that’s from a former world number 21 player who has experienced the more ‘comfortable’ end of the tennis tour – spare a thought for the more lowly ranked players, who have to worry, week in week out, about how they are going to afford the next flight, train ticket, tournament etc.
Another week another plane……
Reality Tennis, through its blogs, is trying to give a picture of what life is really like on the tour (the good, the bad and the reality) as opposed to an idealistic or notional idea gleaned from the media. All of the blogs are based upon first hand experience of the tour and how daily life really is when a player is travelling the world trying to make a living playing tennis. This is no ‘Break Point’ – this is the truth; the real life.
There are more blogs to come so please keep reading and supporting and if you have any questions or queries, please do not hesitate to get in touch. All the very best for 2024 and thank you again for reading.
One of the fabulous things about travelling on the tennis tour with a player is the wonderful variety of people you meet along the way. Coaches, other parents, players, tennis enthusiasts, general spectators to name but a few. Recently however, I met a very interesting chap by the name of Rob Salmon – a coach, a parent and now a reputed podcaster – and we spent an hour or so chatting about all things related to being tennis parents. It was fun! If you fancy a listen then click on one/both of the links below:
The podcast is in two halves – firstly Rob asks me about what it was like being a parent of a top level junior player, and then we progress onto exploring some of my experiences of being with a player who is now trying to make a living on the pro tour – the good, the bad and the reality of life on the tennis tour from a parent’s perspective.
So, if you don’t have the time to read any of my other blogs (at the moment at least!), then please take a listen to the podcast. We only had time to explore a few of my ‘on-tour’ experiences and if you are a regular reader of my blog, you will know there are many more tales to tell. But if this is one of your first visits to the blog and you would like to hear more via a podcast or two, then drop me a line (sallyappleton64@gmail.com) and I’ll see what I can do! Or you can click on the blog tab on this website and you will find many more 5 minute reads to amuse and enlighten you on the reality of life on the tennis tour. It is certainly very different for the majority, from what is portrayed in the media!
When your player is on tour, they will form relationships with many different people – their coach, their trainer, their physio, their doubles partner, to name just a few. Some of these relationships may be short-lived, but others may last for years and become quiet deep and meaningful.
As a parent traveling on the tour with my player, I have seen such relationships grow and develop but likewise, have witnessed the repercussions when these relationships come to an end. I have had to learn to be able to help my player pick up the pieces and think rationally about how to move on when a relationship with a coach, trainer, doubles partner comes to an end – on a temporary or permanent basis. How does the player deal with these situations; these emotional ‘losses’? One day you are working with a coach, or playing with a doubles partner, who you have been with for some time; the next you see him/her on the court with another player. How does that feel? How do you handle it? It’s tough but it’s the reality. It’s life. Such relationships are intense and when they end it can be like the end of a marriage or a long term partnership. It hurts and as a parent you need to be prepared for this and to try to help your player through the ‘grief’ whilst encouraging her to keep perspective and her focus on the job in hand.
The relationship between a player and coach changes as the player matures. At junior level, the coach is the teacher and the guide, and is often linked to the player through the parent. However, as the player moves into adulthood, her relationship with her coach becomes more on a level. The coach still guides and teaches but there is (should be) mutual respect and equality. In actual fact, the player becomes the ‘Boss’ as it is she who is paying the fees, but in reality the player may still see the coach as the leading figure.
A player on the tour spends a huge amount of time with her coach. They travel together, eat together, train together. They also spend much of their downtime together so the bond between them grows. So, when one party decides that it is time to move on, this bond breaks and it can take time for the player (and coach) to recover.
Similarly, with respect to doubles, there are two main types of doubles players. Those who play with a regular partner and those who flit between partners, perhaps focusing on both singles and doubles as opposed to specialising. Those players, who play doubles week in week out, sticking with the same partner, travel together, share accommodation, train together and obviously compete together. Playing doubles is fun; playing with a friend – sharing the on-court joy and stress; but when that relationship comes to an end, it can be stressful and upsetting.
A doubles pairing, or a coach player set up, may not last forever. Goals may change – maybe one player wants to focus solely on doubles; the other on singles as well. Results may start to falter and cracks in the on-court relationship may appear. Living, eating, playing, training, travelling with the same person week in week out, may just get to be too much and a change is needed. The break up of a player/coach/partner relationship can happen at all levels on the tour and the pain is no less severe. Some ‘splits’ are entirely amicable, but more often than not, one party will be hit harder – typically the one who hasn’t instigated the separation. As a parent on the tour, dealing with such an issue is no different from handling our child’s break up from a school friend, partner etc. Be there to listen and offer advice, but not judgement. Those on the outside of the ‘relationship’ cannot fully understand what has gone on, or why the split has occurred, so to make a judgement is misplaced.
Finding the right partner (and coach) can take time and a player may need to experiment with a variety of people before she finds the ‘right’ one. Or she may find two or three partners and have an arrangement whereby she plays with one for a few weeks/tournaments and then switches. This can be good – it gives the players time apart to regroup and adds variety to their tennis experience. But some players may prefer the consistency and reliability of playing with the same person all the time – it’s an individual thing.
So, travelling with a player on the tour means that you are exposed to all the emotional ‘drama’ on and off the court so be prepared! It’s not easy! As a parent (tennis or otherwise) you will need to be a relationship counsellor as well as a sideline supporter, bag carrier and all the rest – see my earlier blog, “All in a Day’s Work”!
In an earlier blog, ‘Keeping Your Options Open’, I spoke about tennis and the school aged player and how in my opinion, education is important and if possible, players should try to juggle schooling with their training and tournament play, at least until they are 18 years of age.
When a player reaches the end of her ‘school life’ there are two routes she can follow. She can join the tour and try to play full time, or she can go to university and get a higher education in the form of a degree, whilst playing a limited number of tournaments each year, then at the end of her degree she can decide whether or not to play on the tour or follow a different career path altogether.
If your player is deciding to go down the US college route, she will need to initially consider (in no particular order):
Where in the US she would like to be based (does she want year round dry, warm weather for example?)
What is more important – the standard of tennis at the college or the academics? If your player is academic and looking to go to an ‘Ivy League’ school, the academic side of things will take priority over tennis and the level of scholarship on offer is likely to be less. Similarly, if your player remains at the College to graduate (as opposed to leaving early to go on the tour), how respected will the College be when she is looking for employment after she has left? Some of the US Colleges are held in high regard by UK employers for example, but many are not, with some employers preferring to take on graduates from UK Universities instead.
Are there any scholarships available at the college(s) of choice? Scholarships are only available if spaces in the team become vacant ie players leave/graduate – some years this may mean there are several; at other times none.
How receptive is the College to players going off to play tournaments mid term?
What level of scholarship is being offered? For the majority of the female players the scholarships are 100% but for the men this may be less if the college concerned has American Football players (for example) to fund as well.
Has your player earned a significant amount of money from tennis already? The entry requirements for US Colleges are very strict and if your player is deemed to be a ‘professional’ ie earning money from tennis, before she enters college, then she may not fulfil the entry criteria.
How good is the coach at the College being considered? Does he/she have a proven track record? How good is the pastoral side of the College? I have spoken to many players who have gone to a US College to play tennis and the responses/experiences they have had have been very mixed. Many have absolutely loved the experience, but similarly I have met many British players who have hated it, and have either come back early, or have stuck it out but not enjoyed it at all. The main issues I have heard of have been reported bullying from coaches and or ‘team mates’; lack of regard for injuries – being forced to play through them; dislike of the US education system (very unlike the UK system in some subjects); and concern over the quality of coaching being received. Some individuals feel they come out of College as better players but others have admitted that their level of play dropped (or stagnated) whilst they were away.
Speaking from personal experience, my player was in two minds as to what to do once she had finished school. She wanted to play on the tour and was flying high in the Juniors but at the same time, in fact from the age of 16, she was being courted by a number of US Colleges (Universities) and being offered full tennis scholarships, which were attractive. In lay mans terms, this means she was being offered US university places (subject to her getting a minimum of two ‘A’ levels and passing the mandatory SAT tests) with a fully paid scholarship (covering all fees, accommodation, kit, coaching, travel expenses etc) for the period of her degree (typically 4 years).
Now some of the colleges that were in contact were not in a location my player wanted to go to so it was easy to reject these – she wanted a guaranteed warmer winter climate than the UK and a good ‘school’ with an established track record academics and in the NCAA competitions. Others were of interest, but the ones she really wanted (on the west coast) didn’t have any scholarships available that particular year, or had filled them with US players.
In the end, having visited the campus and spent some time with the team, my player accepted a place at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee. The team had won the NCAA’s a couple of years previous and academically the university was strong and held in good regard at the time. The process of securing the place and the scholarship was arduous with a lot of form filling and sending off of certificates, exam results and transcripts etc from her school, but in the end she ‘signed’ and confirmed her place for the following ‘Fall’.
One of the issues at the time however, was a strict restriction on earnings – a little easier now I understand. Simultaneous to applying for a College place, my player had applied for a SKY Sports Scholarship (over c.3 years). This was a scheme being offered by SKY Sports (no longer available unfortunately), which offered some financial support for upcoming athletes from a variety of sports, with a view to boosting their careers. The successful candidates were also offered work experience opportunities at SKY (a day in the studios, media training, Presenting Skills workshops, etc) and in return had to submit a number of academic pieces of written work each year, set by the University of West London.
The level of sponsorship being offered by SKY was, at the time, more than was permitted for someone going to College (it exceeded the limits set by the NCAA Eligibility Criteria), so my player had to make the choice between accepting the SKY sponsorship and some opportunities for work experience at a high profile media company, or a place at College in the US. A win:win situation really with pro’s and con’s for each, but the SKY opportunity gave her a chance to start a life on the tour and at the same time, some work experience in an industry of great interest to her, so she opted for this more commercial route, knowing that she could do some higher education at a later date, and is in fact she is doing that now – an online degree in Business and Enterprise in Sport – whilst playing on the tour!
Many players do in fact start off playing College tennis and then leave to play full time on the tour. This is permitted and by starting with a College, the player is then allowed, within certain rules, to go back to College after her playing career is over, to continue her education and obtain her degree, but to be honest, very few go back once they have left!
Having been on the tour (with a player) and spoken to very many players, I think the decision on whether or not to go to College differs greatly between the men and the women. For the men, College seems to be a good and sensible option as men are known to mature (physically and mentally) a little later, whereas women mature earlier and are possibly more ready for the rigours of the tour before many men. Also, the biological clock in women is known to kick in earlier so the number of years on the tour could be perceived to be less and hence the desire to start playing professionally earlier.
There is no doubt that for some, the College tennis route is a good one. It engenders team spirit, offers a ‘free education’, and gives players a chance to play whilst learning. But for others it may hamper their tennis development, frustrate their yearning to be playing full time, or just not be ‘their thing’. Each player is unique in their needs and desires. On the other hand, the tour is tough and relentless and may simply be too much for some, and for those, the College route may be a better option. Reality Tennis, and in particular, the series of blogs available, tries to give an insight into what life is really like on the tour and with that in mind, may be helpful to players who have not yet made their decision. It’s not all glamour and sunshine; it’s tough, rough and certainly not for the feint-hearted, but it’s for each player to decide which route is better for them.
At the majority of tournaments on the tennis tour, the players and their support team, stay in budget hotels or self catering apartments; whatever they can find that is cost effective. Sometimes the accommodation is pretty grim to say the least, especially on the lower echelons of the tour, but on occasions, there is an offer of local housing and this is more often than not, without any (or minimal) cost, and is an option definitely worth considering.
Most typically it is the tournaments in the USA and Australia that offer housing to the players; but sometimes this is an option in the UK and other countries too. The housing is usually with families who are members of the club that is hosting the tournament. It can entail the simple offer of a room, or can be far more all encompassing when the player in effect becomes one of the family for the week and is offered not only a room but also meals and transport to and from the venue. Covid obviously put a stop to a lot of the housing opportunities but slowly offers of accommodation are re-emerging
This type of accommodation can be a life saver to many players. It not only offers a more affordable option but also can offer company and security that many players crave whilst a long way from home. It gives the players a chance to make new friends and contacts and for the hosts, it gives them an opportunity to see a little more of what life on the tour is all about and in some instances, the players become role models to young family members who are just starting out in the game. The players get to witness first hand different cultures and traditions and to try new kinds of food. It is an opportunity to learn about how other nationalities live and can provide a welcome opportunity to get a way from the tournament venue and hotel, and from the tennis scene (albeit for only a few hours a day).
My player (and I) have experienced housing in a number of different countries. Together we have stayed in Cucuta (Colombia), Boca Raton (USA), Frankfurt (Germany), and Shrewsbury and Glasgow (UK). All of these visits have been amazing and the families have been super welcoming and kind. We have shared meals with our hosts and got to know them well in a very short period of time, and hopefully, we will remain in touch for many years to come.
My player has also stayed with families in the USA (in Dallas and Waco) and in Meitar in Israel. Both of these trips were not only rewarding and immensely enjoyable but also they provided unique experiences and she came away with life long memories. In Dallas the host was amazing in warning the players (4 were staying at the house at the time) about a fast approaching tornado and made sure they were safe and away from danger. In Israel, the family were fascinating and were happy to explain and discuss all the issues going on in their country at the time. Eye opening and educational to say the least, and my player came home far more knowledgeable and aware of the cultural and religious differences of that unique part of the world.
My player remains in touch with all of these families and social media has enabled them to follow her career to such an extent that she gets messages of support when she plays. Housing is always an option she will consider and explore although not advisable in countries where english is not widely spoken or where personal safety is a potential issue. So if your player is looking for a more affordable accommodation option, advise them to research housing as you just never know what might be available.
Reality Tennis 