How hard is it to become professional?

             Around 17/18 years old the junior players who have potential try to be professional. Tennis is one of the most competitive sports there is as only 100 players will be able to live from this sport out of thousands. This blog analyzes the path junior players have to take to make it to a professional level.

This year, in 2019 the ITF revisited the rules for the pro tournaments. To get ATP points (Professional point corresponding to your ranking), one player has to go through a lot of steps. First, he has to go through the pre-qualification of a tournament $25,000 minimum, then, if he wins those rounds he can go to the qualification draw of the same tournament, and after winning all his rounds the player can participate in the main draw of the tournament. He will earn one ATP point only if he is in the final of the main draw. Before that, the player won't earn any point.

But here is the problem: one point is nothing. For example, Dominic Thiem, who is ranked #5 ATP has 4765 points. The top #500, Giovanni Fonio has 11 ATP points. So the difference between top-ranked players and lower ranking is huge. To get to the same level, lower-ranked players need to do years of tournaments or have a great win one day.

More than being a highly competitive sport, tennis is also an extremely expensive sport. Let's take the example of the same $25,000 tournament. A player will have to pay $50 dollars to go to the pre-qualification and then another $40 to get in the qualification before being able to make it to the main draw. When in the main draw, a player really makes some money when he reaches the final and of course if he wins. But even in winning, the money earned probably doesn't cover all the expenses of the player to practice, pay his coach, and the expenses related to the tournament. 

To conclude tennis is a highly competitive sport where it is a hardship to get a good ranking and is also an extremely expensive sport that can put you in debt if you don't have the victories. 

How to get a tennis scholarship in the US? (International Players)

           A lot of junior tennis player dreamt, besides to be professional, to go play college tennis in the US. It is one of the only opportunities juniors have to keep playing the sport they love for a few more years. Going to study in the US represents an opportunity for any player in the world as they can experience the "American dream," while getting a valuable diploma in English, and as I said before, they get to play their sport longer. But, for many, going to the US is only worth it if they get a good scholarship. Indeed, college is very expensive and the price for one year can vary from $20,000 to $50,000 depending on the university. So, what is the best way for a player to get a good scholarship and make this dream come true?

Photo Credit: Jeff Pourchier

An easy answer would be: You need a good level. Well, this is true but there are some other factors that could help you catch the attention of the coaches. 

First of all, as you know the first impression matters a lot. Here, the first impression that the coach will have is on the video that the players will send him. The video is a requirement for any player to be recruited. So, the players need to make it look as good as possible. This video should be based on the following:

• A total of approximately 8-10 minutes.
• 10-30 seconds introduction of the player in English.
• 2 minutes baseline hitting
• 1 minute volley and overheads
• 1 minute serves and returns
• 5 minutes of points

In college tennis, doubles are important and a lot of coaches will appreciate better a player who can go the net and volley. It is important to show that in the video as it will give the player a big advantage.

Photo Credit: Jeff Pourchier

After really putting the effort into your video, you need to make sure you send it to the coaches and share it enough time before recruitment starts. This will give more options about where to go, as more coaches will have seen the video.

Finally, I highly recommend you to participate in the recruiting tournaments. Those tournaments are organized especially to recruit players for college. A lot of coaches are present and you can find those tournaments not only in the US but in different countries of the world as well.

Differences in styles in different parts of the world

        I have always wondered why most south American play with the same styles while most North American have a totally different type of game. As a South American player studying in the US, I realized how different the way of teaching tennis was between both continents. This would explain why there are so many similarities between players of the same continent and so many differences with players from another continent.

John Isner (USA) VS Diego Schwartzman (Argentina)

First of all, a general tendency for North American is the following:

• Short point
• Flat and aggressive balls
• More points finished at the net
• More 'Serve and Volley' Type of game
• Players close to the baseline
• Main surface: Hard Court

And in South America, the trend is:

• Long rallies
• More spin in the ball
• Rarely go at the net
• Players far from the baseline
• Main surface: Clay Court

In Europe, the types of games vary a lot from one country to another. For example, Spain shares a lot of common points with South America, while France is more focused on the "technique" part of the game, and England shares some common points with the US.

Those differences in styles can be explained by the availability of tennis surfaces. For example, if a country has more clay courts than hard courts, the coaches and players will adapt their games, and take example on South America. 

Then, each country has a federation of tennis where most of the coaches are trained. In other words, most of the coaches of one country will learn the same techniques since they share the same federation and will transmit those techniques to their players. Most likely, the players of one country will have the same type of playing because of that. 

It doesn't mean that one country has a better way of coaching than another; it just means that they have different styles. Indeed, the current top #3 is Djokovic, Nadal, and Zverev which are all from different countries and have different types/styles of games. 

In a nutshell, tennis is a sport with a lot of variety, which allows the public to watch very different matches. This variety helps the sport to be entertaining as well.

Is it worth trying to go pro in tennis?

            Tennis has one of the most competitive environments in the sports world. Imagine you are a teacher and you are in the top #300 in the world; you are one of the lucky teachers who can live from his work. This example seems harsh? Well, the world of tennis is even harder! Indeed, if you are not part of the top #200 in the world for the men and top #100 for women, you won't be able to make a living from your work. So, here is the question every tennis player ask himself: is it worth trying to go pro in tennis?

          At the age of 17/18 years old, each player has to make a decision whether to turn professional or play just amateur, study and get a 'real-life job'. Most of those players have years of experience. They started playing when they were really young, and all of them dreamt of becoming the next Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova, or Serena Williams. They all wished at one point to pursue a tennis career as they had good tennis results. They were maybe number one of their country as junior players (under 18). But is it still enough? The competition in this sports is so difficult that the answer is not simple.
          The ideal answer would that if you have a great level and great potential, you should try to turn professional. Fulfill your dream and it will pay off at one point. But the reality stands with money. The most real but brutal answer is that if you have a lot of money to spend, then go for it. If your parents have money, if you have good sponsors, or if your tennis federation is sponsoring you, then you have more chances to reach your goal than someone who has a lot of potential but no money.
         As you probably know, tennis is a very expensive sport, especially when you get to a competitive level. You need to have money to pay a coach, pay for the courts to practice and for your material, then pay the fees of the tournaments you play, find a place to stay during the tournament and also feed yourself. All that, knowing that if you don't get to the semi-final of the tournament, you most likely won't get any money at all. And even in making semi-final, you will have spent more money than you can earn.

        So, if you want to try to be professional and have the money for it, then yes, go for it! But if you don't, I would highly recommend you to start looking for good sponsors or deals you could have. Save every cent you can! But the way is long before you make a living from playing tennis professionally.

Lesson #4. How many hours a week should we play tennis?

         Tennis is a harsh sport for the body and is not always easy to figure out the amount of time you should be practicing. If you don't play enough, your chances of getting better decrease, and if you practice too much, you overtrain and consequently risk an injury. So, how do we know how much time a week we can spend on the court?

 First of all, it depends on different factors: you level in tennis, the number of years played, and your general physical condition. As tennis is an individual sport, the amount of time one can spend on the court will be different for each person and depend on their resistance as well (physical and mental).

But overall, here is an idea of what you could do:

• If you are a beginner (0 to 2 years of tennis), 2 hours a week seems a good number to help you get better. If you are in good shape, 3 hours will be recommended.
• If you have an intermediate level (at least 3 years of tennis), 3 or 4 hours a week should be enough to make your game progress. You can eventually go up to 6 hours depending on your type of game (physical game or not).
• Finally, if you are a competitive player with an advanced level, the number of times you play really depends on what your body can take. Usually, 6 hours a week is a good number for any advanced player. But if you have high goals and wishes to perform at a high level, you should plan to practice every day of the week. 

As a competitive tennis player, I use to practice 5 hours a day, 5 days a week which is 25 hours a week. It is a lot but I got there progressively and started to play young. I do not have the same goals anymore so I only 8 hours a week. 

Surpass yourself but watch out for injuries!

Lesson #3. Tennis Surfaces

Rafael Nadal won 11 times the French Open, but he only won one time the Australian Open. Have you ever wonder why there is such a big difference?. Here is the answer: the difference of surfaces.

There are many differences surfaces in tennis but only 3 of them are represented at the four tournaments of the Grand Slam: Hard, Clay, and Grass.

Both Australian and US Open have hard courts surfaces. The hard surface benefits the aggressive players as the ball goes faster than the other surfaces. Players like Novak Djokovic are  the favorites for this kind of courts.

At Roland Garros (French Open), players play on clay courts. Here, the ball will go slower and take more spin which allows players like Rafael Nadal to be efficient. Indeed, Nadal is a baseline player who can stay hours on the courts and needs time to play. That's why he won so many times the tournament. In addition to be a great player, he plays his best tennis on clay.

In England, there is another major tournament, Wimbledon, which it is known as "the capital of tennis". The surface there is grass and it benefits player with an aggressive style and serve and volley style. Indeed, on grass, the balls goes really fast and doesn't bounce high.

These 3 major surfaces are the most used for tournaments on the professional tennis circuit. 

For my part, clay is my favorite surface. Since I like to play at the baseline and have longer points, clay benefits my game. 

Lesson #2. Beginner: What type of racquet fits you the best?

           At any level, the choice of racquet is a key element in your tennis game. Depending on your type of game, you will need a racquet that will help you game the most. In tennis, there are different types of player: The aggressive baseliner, the serve and volleyer, the counterpuncher, and the all-court player. As every player is different, the tennis brands have developed many types of racquets with different characteristics. It can be difficult to find the perfect fit for you with so many choices. This post will give you some tips about how to chose your first racquet.

The first thing is to determine what type of game you have. For that you can answer the following question:

• What is your favorite shot to hit? (Deep ball with spin, Flat winner, Fancy tweener, Low-speed angle precision) 
• How would people describe your game in one word? (Effortless, Crafty, Pusher, Aggressive)
• What is your weapon? (Forehand, Backhand, Volley, Serve, Slice)
• What is your weakness? (Endurance, Strength, Loopy balls, Fast flat balls)

         After answering those questions, you will be able to determine what kind of player you are. The main racquet brands are specialized in one of those types of games. For example, Wilson racquets will be more adapted to aggressive baseliner and serve and volleyer, Babolat racquets will be more adapted to counterpuncher, and Head racquets to all court player. Indeed, Wilson makes stiff racquets while Babolat makes softer frames, and Head makes more polyvalent racquets. 

I hope this post will help you decide what brand of racquets is the right fit for you.