John Millman has highlighted the disturbing gap between tennis’s haves and have nots, declaring tour battlers are better off financially on the government’s JobKeeper program than playing.
Millman has questioned a planned initiative by grand slam giants Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer to support lower-ranked professionals during the coronavirus crisis and is pleading with officials to come up with a permanent fix to the alarming pay disparity.
Fellow Australian Chris O’Connell, the world No.116, brought home the extent of the struggles of being a touring pro when he announced this month he’d hit the Centrelink queue.
O’Connell’s revelation prompted fans to claim that seeking the weekly $750 JobKeeper allowance may be more financially attractive to many.
“I don’t think that’s far fetched at all,” Millman told AAP.
“There would definitely be players making more money in this time now by not playing – and players who are not necessarily struggling in terms of their ability either.
“It’s not a secret – and I’ve made it pretty clear – that I think the (tennis) pay distribution has always been a bit warped.”
Millman, who is increasingly becoming a voice for the battlers, said it was ludicrous that someone like O’Connell could only earn $US72,921 last year in the most global of all individual sports.
He pointed out that soccer players, basketballers, baseballers and others were raking in tens of millions of dollars annually even if they weren’t among the very elite.
“For the standard of tennis that’s out there and for the amount of countries that play competitively and for how big the product of tennis is – because it is a big product, especially globally – the fact that 100 people in the world make money it’s a bit laughable, to be honest,” Millman said.
World No.1 Djokovic has been in touch with fellow ATP Player Council members Federer and Nadal to discuss ways to assist players facing financial struggles amid the pandemic.
That may involve prize money from the ATP Finals and the Australian Open going towards a special relief fund.
But Millman, ranked 43rd and a victor over Federer en route to the 2018 US Open quarter-finals, wrote on Twitter. “If the concern is to help players ranked 250-700 in the world why has it taken a global pandemic to realise this?”
He wants tennis chiefs to find a long-term solution, saying it’s a myth that all tennis players live a glamorous lifestyle.
Millman estimated he “wouldn’t be clearing a thing” if he made $200,000 in prize money.
“That’s something the public aren’t as privy to. They don’t quite get it that we are paying for everything,” he told AAP.
“That’s with a coach, travel, hotels. It’s all off your back. You’re paying for all your expenses as a tennis player.
“Once you’re outside the top 100, start looking at the prize money and then start adding up what’s involved to live for that year on tour and what’s involved to invest in yourself as a product.
“You start to realise how little money you’re making.”
