World No. 243 Dejana Radanovic has advised a fairly surprising story because the 27-year-old Serbian tennis participant claims she is consistently having extra bills than earnings in tennis and it’s her household who’s mainly serving to her survive and nonetheless be a professional tennis participant.
Radanovic, who will probably be turning 28 in Might, loved certainly one of her greatest seasons final 12 monhs when she gained three ITF titles. For Radanovic, it was an incredible season and one thing that she completely wanted after accidents restricted her taking part in time in 2021 and 2022 and induced her rating to plummet to round No. 1000 on the WTA rankings checklist.
However in accordance with former world No. 187 Radanovic, it was removed from ultimate in her nice 2023 season as she claims she made cash in just one match performed final 12 months.
“Final 12 months, I profited in just one match, and I performed 17, 18 of them and gained three titles… And that got here within the match in Skopje,” Radanovic advised Nova RS.
“If the prize pool is $40,000, the winner wins about 10 p.c or so. And it relies upon, in tournaments the place there are 32 tennis gamers within the draw, it’s normally 10 p.c. If there are 48 gamers, she will get even much less. Then, as a winner, I obtained $4,000 and was within the pink (paid more cash than she gained) after paying for gasoline, resort and all the pieces else.”
Radanovic: I am all the time ‘within the pink’
During the last couple of years, there have been extra calls to enhance prize cash within the lower-level tournaments so the gamers ranked outdoors the top-200 might make a greater dwelling and provides themselves a greater likelihood to make one other step of their careers. One of many loudest in these talks has been Novak Djokovic’s PTPA, which has ceaselessly spoken out in regards to the significance of bettering circumstances for the lower-ranked gamers.
On the WTA web site, it says that Radanovic has earned $202,442 thus far in her profession. Additionally, it claims Radanovic netted $18,170 in prize cash through the 2023 season, during which she gained three titles. However Radanovic insists the fact is totally completely different and that she is “hundreds and hundreds of euros within the pink.”
“You might be all the time in some sort of a pink zone (damaging zone, paying more cash than truly incomes). Tennis is a each bodily and psychological sport, chess in movement. There are such a lot of issues, you might be continuously within the pink, so that you all the time end up within the pink,” Radanovic stated.
“Then I might ask myself, like a silly particular person, you exhaust your self a lot that you’d find yourself with hundreds and hundreds of euros within the pink.”
Additional explaining why that is the case, Radanovic stated that there are a number of bills that she must pay often and price some huge cash.
“One reel of strings for rackets prices 100 euros. And also you want ten of these a 12 months. Then there are airplane tickets, tools, resort funds for tournaments,” Radanovic stated.
“For a standard, common lifetime of a tennis participant, should you do not go to five-star inns, besides in India, you want between 30 and 60, 70 thousand euros. Whenever you pay for the coach, the corridor, the balls, the skin courts, the bills on the tournaments, the baggage… The determine reaches 200,000.
“For instance, I had a very nice 12 months final 12 months, I began from the a thousandth place and reached the 250th, which is admittedly nice. And you then return to attending to 250 and also you’re at a loss once more.”
Radanovic: My dad is the sponsor
When requested how she is surviving as a professional tennis participant if she paying more cash than incomes, Radanovic revealed that her dad typically provides her €150 for essentially the most basic items. Whereas a €150 sum is not something particular, it nonetheless means lots to Radanovic.
“The sponsors for now are – dad. Give me 100 euros for proteins, 50 euros for nutritional vitamins for the essential issues I would like. This isn’t any bragging, however basic items that you just, as an athlete, should use,” Radanovic stated.
To date this season, Radanovic performed in 4 tournaments in India. After shedding within the first spherical of the ITF tournaments in Bangalore and Pune, Radanovic made the quarterfinal at an ITF occasion in Indore earlier than retiring halfway by way of her quarterfinal match on account of an damage.
After showing in three ITF tournaments, Radanovic entered the qualifying occasion for a WTA 125 match in Mumbai. Sadly for Radanovic, she was pressured to retire her Mumbai qualifying first-round match after simply 5 video games.
After not taking part in for practically a month, Radanovic is returning to motion at this week’s ITF occasion in Helsinki, the place she will probably be beginning in opposition to Laura Hietaranta within the first spherical. Of their first and lone assembly, Radanovic misplaced to Hietaranta at an ITF occasion in Trieste final 12 months.
