The 2023 US Open in New York brought to light an issue that affects professional tennis players around the world. Recently, Vox Video spoke with players and the head of the Professional Tennis Players Association to discuss the pay problem in our sport.

It turns out that tennis is unique in how players are paid, what costs they are responsible for, and how they are categorized as independent contractors. Unfortunately, this means that unless you are consistently among the very top-ranked players like Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Coco Gauff, and Iga Swiatek, it’s nearly impossible to make a living with income from tennis alone.

It’s concerning that, unlike other sports (like football, baseball, and basketball) that provide support for athletes outside the very top performers, tennis leaves them high and dry. Professional tennis players not only have to pay for coaching, training, travel, and accommodations for tournaments, food, equipment, and all medical needs.

• A shocking 80% of the top 1000 players don’t earn enough from the sport to cover the expenses of playing at the top level.
• Even players ranked between 751-1000 earn between $5500-$4400 compared to the top 10, who bring in between $6.5-3.69 million.

It’s important that we hear from professional players like Taylor Townsend, Hubert Hurkacz, and Alycia Parks, as well as the Executive Director of the Professional Tennis Players Association, Ahmad Nassar, to understand the challenges they face and work towards a solution.

Yes, we understand that Taylor Townsend is currently on a come-back winning streak, with year-to-date earnings of $988,223. And Hubert Hurzack has earned $1,988,312 so far this year. Alycia Parks has also had a good year with $690,400 in earnings. So why do they appear in this video discussing tennis players who are struggling to make a living? Simple – they used to be those players, and are open to talking about it. And if they get injured and need expensive surgery(ies) and treatment, they can easily become those players again.

What are your thoughts on the matter? Do you feel that the lower-level professional tennis players should earn more for their matches? Or do you feel that the system is fair as it is? Let’s discuss in the comments below.

Tennis has produced plenty of stars famous for what they wore on the court – it’s made a fashion icon out of the like of Anna Kournikova. Likewise, Emma Raducanu’s Tiffany jewelry pieces have already become the talk of the tennis world.

Like Raducanu’s jewelry, it isn’t always what a player wears off the court that raises eyebrows – indeed, many players have made fashion statements on the court in the form of glasses. Players wearing glasses is not new – Billie Jean King often wore glasses while playing, and she often stressed their importance in her career.

Tennis Players Who Wore Glasses On The Court

Whether they wore sunglasses or eyeglasses, these tennis players made huge statements with what was on their faces during their matches.

Sam Stosur

Sam Stosur is one of many players who chose to wear an iconic brand of sunglasses while playing. Indeed, Oakley sunglasses have become a staple of the game for many players. Stosur preferred the Half Jacket range when she was on the court. They’re both lightweight and functional, with polarized lenses to protect from glare and high-quality acetate frames.

The 39-year-old Australian player was a US Open winner in 2010 and was once ranked number one in the world for doubles with victories in the French Open (2006), Australian Open (2019), and twice in the US Open (2005, 2021).

Natasha Zvereva

Natasha Zvereva was often seen on the court wearing sunglasses and was also known to favor Oakley. She often wore a wraparound pair, which increased the stability while playing, and had tinted orange lenses for some matches.

Though Zvereva played singles tennis, she became famous for her doubles tennis. From 1989 to 1997, she amassed 18 Grand Slam titles, including four Wimbledon titles in a row between 1991 and 1994. She also broke ground politically as the first major Soviet Union athlete to publicly request that she should be able to keep her tournament earnings which were going into Soviet coffers, while she received only expense money.

Janko Tipsarevic

Janko Tipsarevic is a player we featured in our article Tennis Careers That Sparked But Never Flamed and is another player who, like Billie Jean King, needed prescription glasses for tennis. He also favored Oakley, utilizing the Oakley True Digital Corrective Lens technology when beating Andy Roddick in 2010. Towards the end of his career, he wore the Oakley Rx Flak Jacket sunglasses, popular with cyclists and golfers.

Unlike our first two players, Tipsarevic never tasted Grand Slam success. However, he made it into the quarter-finals of the US Open in 2011 and 2012 and was a member of the Davis Cup-winning team in 2010.

Martina Navratilova

While Tipsarevic needed prescription sunglasses, Martina Navratilova needed regular glasses to get her through a match. The image of her wearing eyewear and lifting trophies is something etched onto the mind of tennis fans from the eighties. She started wearing glasses in 1985, attributing a loss in form to her failing eyesight.

The fix must have worked for her; she won three Wimbledon titles on the bounce (1985, 1986, and 1987) while wearing glasses, as well as the Australian Open (1985) and two US Opens (1986, 1987). She also captured 13 Grand Slam doubles titles while wearing eyeglasses, usually with long-time doubles partner Pam Shriver.

On the hottest summer days, cooling towels can help prevent heatstroke, and other heat-related illness. Even pro tennis players and golfers can be seen on TV, casually wrapping one around their neck in an attempt to keep from getting too hot under the collar (in more ways than one, I might add!)

Competitive spirits and soaring temperatures make for an explosive combination, as we just saw Stefanos Tsitsipas lose it in the New York heat at the US Open, dropping a couple of F-bombs on live TV. It probably won’t diffuse the tension, but a good cooling towel can definitely help you chill out 🙂 And tennis aside… an older teammate of mine swears they help her handle hot flashes too!

That being said, these are our top 10 (no particular order) cooling towels and the reviews from the tennis players and coaches who have purchased them on Amazon:

FROGG TOGGS CHILLY PAD COOLING TOWEL

Frogg Toggs is all about the ability to stay cool no matter how hot and bothered you might get. They’ve designed a range of products that are made from a unique and technically superior evaporative material which is lightweight and soft to the touch, like a chamois cloth. When wet, the Chilly Pad works very quickly and effectively to deliver a burst of much needed cooling hydration. Whether you’ve worked up a sweat on the court, in the gym, or on a long bike ride, you can count on this cooling towel to deliver instant relief. You can even store your Chilly Pad in the fridge so that its ready to grab and go the next time you head to the courts for a gruelling 3-setter in the scorching summer sun. It’s the perfect size to wear over your shoulders and around your neck. It’s machine washable, too, and made to last for years.

This tennis player gave it 5 stars and a great review from a player and coach on Amazon:

“I play tennis every Tuesday and Thursday (average age 62). I purchased Frogg Togg Chilly Pad to see if they really stayed a little cooler and they do. Totally saturate the Chilly Pad with water and lightly squeeze. Put them back in container and put them in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before planning to use them. Wow, almost takes your breath away. After the first hour of tennis, I soak the Chilly Pad with iced water just to get relief from the Texas heat. The main advantage of the Chilly Pad is how it holds water. I absolutely love the product and bought fifteen more to give to my tennis buddies.”

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