"Tennis is a sport for the rich" - Dominic Thiem gives startling evidence, makes damning revelation about financial instability affecting players

Dominic Thiem recently spoke up about how professional tennis is "a sport for the rich". The Austrian, who reached a career-high ranking of World No. 3 in men's singles and most notably won the 2020 US Open, backed up his take with numbers to illustrate how tennis players earn only a fraction of the on-paper prize money spanning various tournaments.

Thiem featured as a recent guest on the Jot Down Sport podcast. Here, the now-retired Austrian revealed how aspiring tennis players, from a very young age, have to incur significant expenses simply to train.

"Tennis is a sport for the rich, and you can see that from a very young age. Training, for example, is very expensive. I can tell you that between the ages of 13 and 18, you have to pay between 80,000 and 100,000 euros a year, almost a million euros in total, an amount that no one can afford," the 32-year-old said.

Recalling how he himself desired "financial stability" as a professional tennis player without understanding the intricacies, Dominic Thiem added:

"I wasn't interested in money or understanding how it worked; I just wanted financial stability throughout my career."

The 17-time career singles titlist also went on to shed light on how players shockingly end up losing more than 60% of the first-round prize money at the prestigious Wimbledon Championships, one of tennis' four Majors.

"The first round of Wimbledon gives you £65,000, but you lose more than 60%. First, you have to deduct the taxes of the country you play in, which are deducted from your prize money, then the taxes of your own country, and finally, the expenses related to your team," Thiem concluded.

"It's not healthy" - Dominic Thiem's 2024 admission on grueling life of tennis players

Dominic Thiem (Source: Getty)

Dominic Thiem had established himself as one of the elite men's tennis players in the world by 2021. However, the very same year, a right wrist injury he sustained while competing at the Mallorca Championships permanently altered his career trajectory.

Even though the Austrian underwent surgery, he was never the same player again once he made his comeback, as his wrist's limitations adversely affected the quality of his forehand in particular. In an interview with The Guardian's Tumaini Carayol last year, Thiem criticized the almost non-stop nature of the tennis calendar and how it impacts players physically, saying:

"I think the way we do the sport, it’s not healthy, and at one point, one part or more parts of the body break down. You can see it with almost every player, there is no player who comes injury free through their career."

Thiem bid farewell to his tennis-playing career at the 2024 Vienna Open, with his decision to retire stemming from his inability to compete to win trophies at men's tennis' elite level.

Edited by Sudipto Pati