Life on Tour With Jean-Yves Aubone May 2015 Update #7 The Costs of Living the Dream

Jean-Yves Aubone, Tennis Atlantic

In this blog I will present a breakdown of my income and expenses in various categories for the year of 2013 and 2014. They are the only years so far where I played professionally from the beginning of the year up until the end. I did not write this blog based on my opinion on how well tennis players do or do not get paid. I wrote this so that you may form your own opinion based on numerical facts rather than assumptions.

2013 2014 Total Prize Money $9,637 $12,101 Singles Prize Money $5,695 $9,260 Singles Tournaments Played 26 24 Average Income Per Singles Event $219 $386 Doubles Prize Money $3,942 $2,841 Doubles Tournaments Played 16 15 Average Income Per Doubles Event $246 $189 Year End Singles Ranking 679 484 Year End Doubles Ranking 307 419 Expenses 2013 2014 Food/Meals/Groceries $10,390 $12,898 Tournament Fees $400 $440 Racquet/Tennis Gear $2,158 $2,463 Coaching/Training $6,995 $5,900 Gas $2,337 $2,523 Transportation $5,137 $2,986 Hotels $4,843 $2,435 Total Expenses $32,259 $29,950 Net Income -$22,622 -$17,849

Some things to keep in mind when evaluating my expenses:

Tournament fees – In order to play in professional events, a membership is required. Therefore, the tournament fees include my ITF IPIN membership and ATP Playerzone membership so that I can register for events. This expense section also covers whatever entry fee I have to pay at events to play.

Racquet/tennis gear – Includes racquet stringing. For the second half of 2014 I purchased a Pro Stringer. It’s a portable stringing machine so that I can string my own racquets and not have to pay to get them strung. For 2013 and 2014 I was sponsored by Babolat, therefore I did not have to pay for my own racquets, racquet bags, or strings. I did not have a clothing sponsor at the time.

Coaching/training – Includes any kind of physical therapist or doctor I need to see. Also, I only travel with a coach to a tournament a few times a year. It’s too expensive. I only work with a coach a few months out of the year when I’m training in Atlanta at Ginepri Performance Tennis. When I’m there I work out a special rate with my coaches so it’s not too expensive. They deserve to get paid more but are kind enough to help me. The same goes for my fitness trainer.

Transportation – these items are air fares and car rentals to and from tournaments. The 2014 amount was lower vs 2013 one because I was able to drive to more tournaments.

Hotels – This amount was lower in 2014 vs 2013 because I was able to play tournaments where I could stay at a friend’s house.

It should be noted that these are not ALL of my expenses. They are only my tennis related expenses. I did not include my health insurance, car insurance, car payment, rent/utilities, cell phone and anything that I spend on recreational activities such as going to the movies or playing golf.

Food for Thought:

The minimum wage in the United States is $7.25 an hour. A person working on average 40 hours a week is typically considered a full time employee. A full time employee working on minimum wage earns $15,080. Last year I finished the year ranked as the 484th best professional tennis player in the world in singles. Not including doubles, I earned $9,260.