LEss then a year after leaving the quarter-finals of Wimbledon from 2022 at the unspoilt no. 1 Hof van All England Club, Cristian Garín was 10,000 miles away on a hard court on the Pacific Island of Nouméa, Nieuw-Caledonia.
The Chilean, which had a career-high ranking of World No 17, had registered for an ATP Challenger event, the second Tour of Tennis, which usually pulled players outside the top 100, after a wrist injury forced him to miss two ATP Masters 1000 events. By January 2023, Garín was on a precarious no. 82.
A ruthless ranking system, determined by tournament performance in the last 52 weeks, is waiting for no one. Even players such as Garín, once to the best in the world, can be back in purgatory after poor enchantment. “In the beginning it was difficult to find motivation,” says the 29-year-old after a long break.
“The cities, the circumstances are not the best, different from when you play the best tournaments. The challengers are difficult. Sometimes I get very upset because you are going a long way to win 30 games and you are still outside the top 100. It’s way too much.”
The life of a player can be far from chic. Casual fans may look at Carlos Alcaraz’s lucrative sponsorship with envy, but those on the edge of the top 100 and then live a strongly contrasting reality. The less glamorous side of the sport includes endless travel, cost savings to make ends meet and fight against loneliness.
Kevin Clancy, a sports psychologist who has worked with the best players in Ireland, believes that Tennis and Golf are the most psychologically demanding sports. He says: “It is about 20% of the time that you are in court and get the ball, so there is 80% of the time where you think a lot.
“Tennis is a sport that you could put together mentally, very badly. For players at Challenger level it is about survival. They must play more tournaments and that constant pressure from:” I have to perform and get points “.
“Often those players sleep on floors. They may share a motel room with a number of other players. In some cases they may even have difficulty having enough money to buy good food.
“These players play for a man and his dog in the middle of nowhere. It is really difficult from a psychological perspective.”
When the Serbian professional Dusan Lajovic started touring for the first time, he enjoyed the new experiences of travel to distant countries. But his youthful exuberance was quickly rejected after years of debilitating schedules of 11 months. In 2023, he revealed his fighting with depression and fear.
Lajovic, once in 23rd place in the world and now 35 years old, says: “It’s not just available and backhands, it’s how much you can suffer? How much can you travel? How much can you sleep in different beds every week? We take almost as many flights as pilots. It is a lonely sport.
“If you hit 30, try to nest somewhere, start a family. But tennis doesn’t allow you to do that. It doesn’t say alone, okay, this is for me, I’m going to be strong because you go hit walls. It takes a toll on your body, your mental health.”
Players devote their entire life to the sport. The Japanese Taro Daniel would know, because he had moved the whole world to Spain when he was 14. “To put in perspective, it is 20 years more dedication than a doctor to be here,” says 32-year-old chinning. “And even then 90% of people don’t make it.”
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The German Maximilian Marterer, now 30, started nomadic life from the age of 12. “When I’m healthy, I spend 10, 15 weeks a maximum of [per year] At home, “he says.” Not only me, we have all seen many places, but we also missed a lot of cool moments at home. ‘
From Clancy’s experience, a strong support system is of vital importance. “It can be family, friends or a partner,” he says. “Yes, they can be physically apart, but are they connected to them? On WhatsApp, Zoom, whatever, it is extremely important. You have to have a routine after a competition.”
Despite all their sacrifices, a juicy financial return is far from guaranteed. In 2024, Nikoloz Basilashvili returned from an elbow injury and earned $ 63,183 in prize money. But after deducting escape costs and paying his coaches, De Georgian said that he went through a net loss of around $ 120,000.
“I wanted to stop after my injury because I had burned out for many years,” he says. “You are usually alone and you don’t really have many friends to talk to. I don’t know if there is another sport like this, to take a flight on the same day that you are playing a competition and then you will be in another city next week. But then I decided to look at tennis in a different way, to enjoy it a little more.”
If a former world No. 16 with more than $ 9 million in career income, Basilashvili was able to pay the hit in the short term. Others, such as India’s Sumit Nagal, ever reduced to only € 900 in his bank accountDo not enjoy the same luxury. “The only thing I can say is that you have to keep playing, keep winning. That’s it,” says the world no. 302.
Most of them remain to feed their love for sport. For Nicolás Jarry, a former world no. 16 who stopped from the top 100 while fighting vestibular neuritis – an ear condition that influences his balance and vision – tennis serves an extra goal; As his form of self -expression.
“I was born as the oldest child, so I follow many rules,” he says. “If someone tells me that I have to do one, and it is not going to kill me, I will do one, even if I think B. now. Now I follow my instincts. It motivates me to see how far I can follow.”
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