Taro Daniel and a Proposal to End the Precarity of Tennis Players Outside the Top 250: "It's Not Unthinkable"

Andrés Tomás Rico | 24 Jun 2025 | 23.01

Taro Daniel and a proposal to end the precarity of tennis players outside the Top 250: "It is not far-fetched." Photo: Getty Images

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It is one of the issues that most concern in the world of tennis: the economic difference between players based on their ranking position. Even though the 'Prize Money' increases, it only benefits the tournament winners or those who reach the final rounds. Without considering that most of them have a set of sponsors and an economic base that allows them not to worry about their bank account and to have as many team members as they desire.

However, the situation is not the same for players ranked below the top 200 or 250. Hotels, flights, coaching staff salaries... all of these pose a headache for these players who not only need to win matches to climb in the rankings, but also are forced to do so in order to finance their journey on the circuit. This adds extra pressure.

Several voices have spoken out against this situation, one of them being Novak Djokovic, and the latest being Taro Daniel. The Japanese, currently ranked 154th in the world, who previously reached 58th in the ATP ranking, explained to Financial Times the expenses a player of his level incurs, striving to downplay the 'prize money' they sometimes manage to get.

Expenses that few people are aware of.

"The figure you see is not accurate. Firstly, you earn all that money in foreign countries, so they will deduct all tax withholdings. Then, tournaments cover your hotel room, but not your coach's. My credit card statement, it's at least $20,000 a month just for hotel, food, flights, and not including the salaries I pay my team... As a tennis player, you are like a small company, but with all your employees traveling all the time," confesses the Japanese.

Daniel gave another example to illustrate the reality that many tennis players experience: "Let's say you go from Indian Wells to the Miami Open. That flight will cost at least $500, most players will bring two more people, like a coach and a physiotherapist, and then extra baggage for rackets and equipment. It would be about $2,000 for a domestic trip. One way only," he points out.

The article itself breaks down the expenses and earnings the player had last year, with $440,000 in expenses and $570,000 in earnings. Meaning, he ended the season with a positive balance of $100,000.

Given this apparently unchanging situation in the short term, the Japanese proposes an idea involving the Grand Slams, the ATP, and the WTA, so that those players outside the Top 250, yet determined to pursue their dream of becoming professional tennis players, can continue striving without constantly worrying about their finances: "The Grand Slams generate between $350 and $500 million annually. I believe the solution would be for each player, up to 300 or 400 in the rankings, to receive a salary of $100,000, divided between the Slams and the ATP or the WTA. It would be $8 million from each organization, not unreasonable."

The ATP launched its financial security program called ‘Baseline’ in 2024. It guarantees minimum annual incomes of $300,000 to players in the top 100, $200,000 to players ranked between 101 and 175, and $100,000 to players between 176 and 250. However, it lacks support from the Grand Slams, something that would help increase these incomes and expand their reach. Taro Daniel's example is not an exception but a common reality for many players on the circuit who have more opponents off the court than on it.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Taro Daniel y una propuesta para acabar con la precariedad de los tenistas fuera del Top 250: "No es descabellado"