Rafael Nadal Says Lower-ranked Players Need More Money

[Backspin1183]

Melbourne: World number one Rafa Nadal voiced his support for players to demand a greater share of tennis revenues, saying that more lower-ranked professionals should be able to make a living from the sport.

Nadal's comments follow media reports this week that Novak Djokovic, the president of the Players' Council, had urged players to unionise at a pre-Australian Open meeting and revolt over the way the revenues from the four grand slams are distributed.

The 30-year-old Serb denied any threat of a boycott on Tuesday.

Nadal, a former vice-president of the Players' Council, said tennis had improved "a lot" for lower-ranked players in recent years but felt more needed to be done.

"Just to be clear, at some point, I don’t know 100 percent about what's going on or not, but at some point, it's good that the players speak between each other about what we want or what we don’t want," he told reporters after winning his second round match against Argentine Leonardo Mayer on Wednesday.

‘That’s all. (It's) not about union or not union. Forget about this ... I believe that the tennis improved a lot the last couple of years for the lower ranking players.

"One sport is bigger not only when the top guys win a lot of money. It's bigger when a sport creates a lot of jobs.

"If there is 300 people living from tennis is better than if there is only 100.

"But that’s my opinion. The real thing is if we can help at some point to the players that needs more help, will be fantastic."

https://www.google.co.in/amp/www.ne...r-ranked-players-need-more-money-1634935.html

 

[EloQuent]

Melbourne: World number one Rafa Nadal voiced his support for players to demand a greater share of tennis revenues, saying that more lower-ranked professionals should be able to make a living from the sport.

Nadal's comments follow media reports this week that Novak Djokovic, the president of the Players' Council, had urged players to unionise at a pre-Australian Open meeting and revolt over the way the revenues from the four grand slams are distributed.

The 30-year-old Serb denied any threat of a boycott on Tuesday.

Nadal, a former vice-president of the Players' Council, said tennis had improved "a lot" for lower-ranked players in recent years but felt more needed to be done.

"Just to be clear, at some point, I don’t know 100 percent about what's going on or not, but at some point, it's good that the players speak between each other about what we want or what we don’t want," he told reporters after winning his second round match against Argentine Leonardo Mayer on Wednesday.

‘That’s all. (It's) not about union or not union. Forget about this ... I believe that the tennis improved a lot the last couple of years for the lower ranking players.

"One sport is bigger not only when the top guys win a lot of money. It's bigger when a sport creates a lot of jobs.

"If there is 300 people living from tennis is better than if there is only 100.

"But that’s my opinion. The real thing is if we can help at some point to the players that needs more help, will be fantastic."

https://www.google.co.in/amp/www.ne...r-ranked-players-need-more-money-1634935.html

very easy way to do that is for players worth 100s of millions to give some of their money to those other players

 

[Sysyphus]

As always, a self-serving comment from Nadal. This time looking out for his own imminent financial future.

 

[SinjinCooper]

very easy way to do that is for players worth 100s of millions to give some of their money to those other players

Better way is to eliminate abuse of TUE's, whereby already wealthy players who want to work the system can purchase the loyalties of corrupt medical professionals, thereby artificially enhancing players' recovery curves, and artificially extending their careers well past the expiration dates.

End that nonsense, and young players advance naturally, and the only older players still around for them to contend with are those with elegant, efficient, timeless games (Federer), or serve artists (Ivo).

With the current policy, the tour is jammed up with thirty-something grindbots who recover like sixteen-year-olds, and there's no place for up and coming talent to earn their rightful share, like there was when tennis was booming.

 

[cc0509]

very easy way to do that is for players worth 100s of millions to give some of their money to those other players

Why the heck would they or should they do that?

 

[noobforehand20]

they do, its not like they dont work hard or anything, they actually spend more time travelling and playing week to week

 

[EloQuent]

Why the heck would they or should they do that?

Because the other players deserve money.

 

[bluetrain4]

Given the travel/coaching/other costs, how much does it take for a pro living moderately to profit, say, $100k per year? Let's say that it takes 165k to make 100k (just using these numbers as an example, maybe they're way off, but bear with me). In your opinion, how many players per year should be making at least 165k such that tennis has an adequate depth of players making decent money after costs? The big thing for me is that earnings drop off so quickly.

 

[Krish872007]

Because the other players deserve money.

Don't know if that's the right way to resolve it though. They should be allocated more prize money for smaller tournaments, but the top players have earned all their money by being superior to them. If these others were good enough, then they'd be multi-millionaires as well. Even Berdych, who we make fun of on these boards, is exceedingly rich because he's delivered on a few occasions in important tournaments.

 

[EloQuent]

Don't know if that's the right way to resolve it though. They should be allocated more prize money for smaller tournaments, but the top players have earned all their money by being superior to them. If these others were good enough, then they'd be multi-millionaires as well. Even Berdych, who we make fun of on these boards, is exceedingly rich because he's delivered on a few occasions in important tournaments.

then Nadal should make up his mind, does he care about the other players or doesn't he?


"allocate more money" means that money goes away from the bigger tournaments- away from Nadal. So just fork it over.

Unless this is just words

 

[Red Rick]

As always, a self-serving comment from Nadal. This time looking out for his own imminent financial future.

Doesn't Federer do the same when he doesn't want things to change, or will he find himself in the challengers together with Nadal

 

[Krish872007]

then Nadal should make up his mind, does he care about the other players or doesn't he?


"allocate more money" means that money goes away from the bigger tournaments- away from Nadal. So just fork it over.

Unless this is just words

Ah right, you're referring to future prize money, not his current bank balance. Yeah, that's fair.

Of course it's just words, Nadal is not on the Players' Council any more so he won't have an active role in reallocating funds

 

[ibbi]

Ah, the crafty devil. He just knows that he will be a lower ranked player soon, so is preparing for the future. What a *******.

 

[Pagoo]

Ah right, you're referring to future prize money, not his current bank balance. Yeah, that's fair.

Of course it's just words, Nadal is not on the Players' Council any more so he won't have an active role in reallocating funds

Not sure why this made me LOL. It sounded like the money is just lying around to be allocated.

 

[vive le beau jeu !]

the nadal met a lot of them recently... guess he wants to return the favour.

 

[FudgeMyn]

I'm sure Nadal,fed, Murray and Novak could spare 5grand to a couple players who can't afford hotel/flights to a couple tourneys.

 

[tennisaddict]

Give Rafa a few more such draws with Futures and Challenger players ..Things will all work out sooner than you think.

 

[Deleted member 688153]

As always, a self-serving comment from Nadal. This time looking out for his own imminent financial future.

Underrated

 

[Mustard]

Nadal is right, except that the players most certainly do need a trade union. There shouldn't be ambiguity about that. The lower ranked players need that union in particular.

 

[EloQuent]

why won't a trade union just end up getting dominated by the top 20 players just like the ATP did?

 

[Russeljones]

Nadal wants to make a popular proposal so that he can sneak in a 2-year ranking and possibly ban some umpires.

We see through you, no?

 

[FiReFTW]

I never really understood how strangely tennis works when it comes to money.
If you look at any other sport, basketball, soccer whatever.. you can be an average player and get millions easily, but in tennis you have to be top 100 or you basically almost can't make profits, its completely ridicilous to me.

 

[octobrina10]

Better way is to eliminate abuse of TUE's, whereby already wealthy players who want to work the system can purchase the loyalties of corrupt medical professionals, thereby artificially enhancing players' recovery curves, and artificially extending their careers well past the expiration dates.

End that nonsense, and young players advance naturally, and the only older players still around for them to contend with are those with elegant, efficient, timeless games (Federer), or serve artists (Ivo).

With the current policy, the tour is jammed up with thirty-something grindbots who recover like sixteen-year-olds, and there's no place for up and coming talent to earn their rightful share, like there was when tennis was booming.

Fed's propaganda apparatus keeps working...

 

[Steve0904]

God bless him! Champion of the people.

 

[Red Rick]

I never really understood how strangely tennis works when it comes to money.
If you look at any other sport, basketball, soccer whatever.. you can be an average player and get millions easily, but in tennis you have to be top 100 or you basically almost can't make profits, its completely ridicilous to me.

Those are team sports, where people are fans of clubs and where most games are in national competitions. Therefor, 500 players or more can compete at the highest level. Individual sports are a lot more star driven.

 

[Purplemonster]

Rafa wants the lower ranked players to make more prizemoney so they have enough funds to train at his tennis academy.

 

[Zoolander]

Indeed! Maybe the Nadal should give out dozens of free scholarships for all the poor players so they can train at his academy and become good rich players like him.

 

[Fedinkum]

Indeed! Maybe the Nadal should give out dozens of free scholarships for all the poor players so they can train at his academy and become good rich players like him.

I dont know the fact, but I would think some form of scholarship is the most obvious thing that any academy would have in place. I will be very suprised if Rafa's academy does not give out scholarship.

 

[reaper]

why won't a trade union just end up getting dominated by the top 20 players just like the ATP did?

Because it would be 1 player 1 vote.

 

[EloQuent]

Because it would be 1 player 1 vote.

How does ATP work?

Does 1P1V make sense? Would anyone who ever got a single point get a vote? Also in terms of leverage how do you enforce that, only the top players can make or break a tournaments

 

[reaper]

I never really understood how strangely tennis works when it comes to money.
If you look at any other sport, basketball, soccer whatever.. you can be an average player and get millions easily, but in tennis you have to be top 100 or you basically almost can't make profits, its completely ridicilous to me.

Team sports have fan affiliation over a lifetime. How many people enthusiastically support the world's 457th ranked tennis player? There's no interest in that player, no support for that player (or the tournaments he plays in), and hence no money for that player.

 

[reaper]

How does ATP work?

Does 1P1V make sense? Would anyone who ever got a single point get a vote? Also in terms of leverage how do you enforce that, only the top players can make or break a tournaments

The specific terms of membership would be determined by the articles of association/constitution of the body. What precisely they would be is not for me to say, but that's just normal practice in setting up any institution. You're right to a point that it would require the support of leading players: Nadal and Djokovic appear to have given it in principle support.

 

[cc0509]

Because the other players deserve money.

No, they don't IMO. Only if they put the work and sacrifices in and position themselves to make more money.

 

[EloQuent]

No, they don't IMO. Only if they put the work and sacrifices in and position themselves to make more money.

According to Rafa they do, so he should give them more.

 

[cc0509]

According to Rafa they do, so he should give them more.

I hope you're trolling.

 

[EloQuent]

I hope you're trolling.

https://media.giphy.com/media/3o7aCUQfzhWgYvrHnG/giphy.gif

 

[swizzy]

As always, a self-serving comment from Nadal. This time looking out for his own imminent financial future.

rafa is looking out for people well outside the top 100.. he is number 1.. is super rich and makes a ton of money off his fame. it might even cost the top guys if the some of the lion share in professional tennis was spread around. so it seems to be it was directed at young guys who are struggling to make a living.. something that betters the entire field. from a guy who wasn't always freakishly well off and who served as the unions vp.

 

[santiago_rios]

Lots and lots of great talent is lost, that we never get to see, because the young one cannot afford to travel and survive on the challenger/future circuit.

Rafa is right, the lower players do need more to make it survivable. Maybe not even that much more, but enough so that they are not having to string with synthetic gut and hoping it lasts all tournament and sleeping in cars, etc.

ATP should see it as positive investment in future stars, or future crop from their eyes since players are all slaves and products.

 

[Bartelby]

Here is an evidence-based analysis of tennis compared to golf:

https://www.theguardian.com/busines...ant-more-money-its-not-as-absurd-as-it-sounds

An excerpt:

One hundred and thirty men on the USPGA tour earned more than did the 50th best players on the ATP tour in 2017.

In 2017, 42 men on the ATP tour earned over US$1m, compared to 102 on the USPGA. And that is not including the European golf tour, which had 40 players earn over $1m.

 

[Rafa24]

As always, a self-serving comment from Nadal. This time looking out for his own imminent financial future.

LMAO. Like Nadal will keep playing when he is lower ranked. You fed fans are hilarious. Nadal isn't going to play when he goes down hill and go to collect a first round check.

 

[Rafa24]

I think I read the tennis players get 6% of the revenue from a slam. NBA split is 49/51% of revenue. But yeah Rafa is wrong for thinking they should give the lower ranked players more money.

 

[Sudacafan]

A tennis financial institution like the IMF or the World Bank should be created for these purposes.
Top (rich) players should be financing bottom ranked (poor) players on these premises.
From time to time poor players will not be able to meet their financial obligations and will be entering in default.

 

[Backspin1183]

LMAO. Like Nadal will keep playing when he is lower ranked. You fed fans are hilarious. Nadal isn't going to play when he goes down hill and go to collect a first round check.

I think he said that as a joke.

 

[Bender]

As always, a self-serving comment from Nadal. This time looking out for his own imminent financial future.

 

[ForumMember]

Doesn't Federer do the same when he doesn't want things to change, or will he find himself in the challengers together with Nadal

Playing futures Djokovic will call for boycott of Challengers as well.

 

[Max G.]

Absolutely agree.

The more players are fighting for the top spots, the better the top gets. The best thing for the quality of the game is to increase the number of players who can support themselves playing tennis - because the number of players who can support themselves traveling and fighting is how many players get to improve over time and push the guys above them to get better.

 

[hugobosstachini]

Don't know if that's the right way to resolve it though. They should be allocated more prize money for smaller tournaments, but the top players have earned all their money by being superior to them. If these others were good enough, then they'd be multi-millionaires as well. Even Berdych, who we make fun of on these boards, is exceedingly rich because he's delivered on a few occasions in important tournaments.

This logic does not work though. There are only 10 players in the top ten and only less than five that are even better ones. Statistically then, every player cannot be great players.

There is over a 1000 players on ATP tour. That's probably around 0.0010% chance of being at the top, hence having all the benefits that comes with. In which case, either they seriously reduce the amount of players in order to better distribute the prize or either they find a much better solution to distribute things as good as possible to the bottom.

It's easy to just say, "these players should have just been good", however this is a simplistic way of reasoning when you live in France or the US. Every person was not born in an area with great facilities or infrastructure to help improve their potential. War, bad political decision or a country simply not having the means to finance its athletes to begin with can explain that fact.

Well, also the lack of interest to promote a particular sport instead of another because of history can also explain such discrepancy. For instance, the carribbean has the best athletes you find but tennis is just not a preference. Infrastructures are bad because of that hence creating a big handicap for those who would have taken that sport.

It's remarkable that some players have overcome that (Ivanovic or Djokovic...) but these people are exceptions not the norm.

 

[darrinbaker00]

Here is an evidence-based analysis of tennis compared to golf:

https://www.theguardian.com/busines...ant-more-money-its-not-as-absurd-as-it-sounds

An excerpt:

One hundred and thirty men on the USPGA tour earned more than did the 50th best players on the ATP tour in 2017.

In 2017, 42 men on the ATP tour earned over US$1m, compared to 102 on the USPGA. And that is not including the European golf tour, which had 40 players earn over $1m.

Simple solution: put down the tennis racquets, pick up the golf clubs.

 

[Bartelby]

How is that simple, o wise one, given it takes ten years to reach the top in any one sport?

You best stick to accountancy and wierd conversations over tax breaks in a code full of so many holes for cheating that it shames Swiss cheese.

Simple solution: put down the tennis racquets, pick up the golf clubs.

 

[darrinbaker00]

How is that simple, o wise one, given it takes ten years to reach the top in any one sport?

You best stick to accountancy and wierd conversations over tax breaks in a code full of so many holes for cheating that it shames Swiss cheese.

I will stick to whatever I please, thank you very much.