Life on Tour With Jean-Yves Aubone May 2015 Update #7 The Costs of Living the Dream
Jean-Yves Aubone, Tennis Atlantic

From ATP/WTA Sydney 2014, qualifiers had to pay for water and tennis balls

In this blog I will present a breakdown of my income and expenses in various categories for the year of 2013 and 2014. They are the only years so far where I played professionally from the beginning of the year up until the end. I did not write this blog based on my opinion on how well tennis players do or do not get paid. I wrote this so that you may form your own opinion based on numerical facts rather than assumptions.

	2013	2014
Total Prize Money	$9,637	$12,101
Singles Prize Money	$5,695	$9,260
Singles Tournaments Played	26	24
Average Income Per Singles Event	$219	$386
Doubles Prize Money	$3,942	$2,841
Doubles Tournaments Played	16	15
Average Income Per Doubles Event	$246	$189
Year End Singles Ranking	679	484
Year End Doubles Ranking	307	419
Expenses	2013	2014
Food/Meals/Groceries	$10,390	$12,898
Tournament Fees	$400	$440
Racquet/Tennis Gear	$2,158	$2,463
Coaching/Training	$6,995	$5,900
Gas	$2,337	$2,523
Transportation	$5,137	$2,986
Hotels	$4,843	$2,435
Total Expenses	$32,259	$29,950
Net Income	-$22,622	-$17,849

Some things to keep in mind when evaluating my expenses:

Tournament fees – In order to play in professional events, a membership is required. Therefore, the tournament fees include my ITF IPIN membership and ATP Playerzone membership so that I can register for events. This expense section also covers whatever entry fee I have to pay at events to play.

Racquet/tennis gear – Includes racquet stringing. For the second half of 2014 I purchased a Pro Stringer. It’s a portable stringing machine so that I can string my own racquets and not have to pay to get them strung. For 2013 and 2014 I was sponsored by Babolat, therefore I did not have to pay for my own racquets, racquet bags, or strings. I did not have a clothing sponsor at the time.

Racquet customization companies like Priority One charge thousands for their services to pros.

Coaching/training – Includes any kind of physical therapist or doctor I need to see. Also, I only travel with a coach to a tournament a few times a year. It’s too expensive. I only work with a coach a few months out of the year when I’m training in Atlanta at Ginepri Performance Tennis. When I’m there I work out a special rate with my coaches so it’s not too expensive. They deserve to get paid more but are kind enough to help me. The same goes for my fitness trainer.

Transportation – these items are air fares and car rentals to and from tournaments. The 2014 amount was lower vs 2013 one because I was able to drive to more tournaments.

Hotels – This amount was lower in 2014 vs 2013 because I was able to play tournaments where I could stay at a friend’s house.

It should be noted that these are not ALL of my expenses. They are only my tennis related expenses. I did not include my health insurance, car insurance, car payment, rent/utilities, cell phone and anything that I spend on recreational activities such as going to the movies or playing golf.

Food for Thought:

The minimum wage in the United States is $7.25 an hour. A person working on average 40 hours a week is typically considered a full time employee. A full time employee working on minimum wage earns $15,080. Last year I finished the year ranked as the 484th best professional tennis player in the world in singles. Not including doubles, I earned $9,260.