Tennis
How Much Do Tennis Coaches Really Make ?
How much people earn is often a fascinating question. Tennis coaches are not exempt from such inquiries. How much do the people behind the world’s biggest tennis players earn? Find out with us.
Tennis players standing with tennis coach on court//Getty Images
There are different types of tennis coaches, and for the purpose of this piece will focus solely on those who work with professional tennis players.
It begs a question how much tennis coaches earn, considering the astronomical amounts their clients receive in prize money.
WTA and ATP players are said to pay their coaches anywhere between 5 and 15% of their prize money earnings.
How to Be a Professional Tennis Coach
One cannot obviously wakeup and decide to become a professional tennis coach. There are avenues, specific experience and training that must have been had to coach the world’s top tennis stars.
Transitioning from Pro-Tennis to Coaching
This is probably the easiest and most logical route to take up coaching after retirement as a professional tennis player. It is hard for an athlete to completely leave any sport when retirement comes knocking.
Most take up coaching, undergo training to supplement their knowledge and the experience they already have.
This is necessary of course because coaching supersedes its technical aspect, there is an interpersonal and psychological role very key to the success of both coach and Player.
Former Tennis Players Who Turned to Coaching Following Retirement
Peter Lundgren
Not one of the most formidable tennis players in his day, the late Peter Lundgren worked with some of the biggest names.
He worked with Roger Federer from 2000 to 2003, helping him reach greater heights. He also guided Marat Safin to the 2005 Australian Open.
Peter Lundgren helped Roger Federer win 10 ATP titles and his first Grand Slam at Wimbledon in 2003.
Tony Roche
Tony Roche is a revered figure in tennis, often referenced as very influential to the playing styles of many tennis Players.
He has coached several number ones and Grand Slam winning champions like Roger Federer, Ivan Lendl and Lleyton Hewitt.
Brad Gilbert
Brad Gilbert’s highest ATP ranking was No.4 and has mentored the likes of Andy Murray, Kei Nishikori and Andy Roddick.
Darren Cahill
Darren Cahill only won two titles in his playing days. He has an impressive resume though, having coached Andre Agassi, Andy Murray and his biggest succuss thus far, Lleyton Hewitt.
Paul Annacone
Another revered name, Paul Annacone, has mentored Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Tim Henman. He only won three titles as a professional player.
Undergoing Training to Become a Coach
Professional development is necessary for a tennis coach to mentor the best and reach heights unimaginable.
The ITF provides such development opportunities through their various coaching and educational programmes.
On a yearly basis, the ITF works with an average of 68 countries to help develop and deliver higher standards of tennis coaching.
Their courses are put together with the help of the ITF coaches commission and coaching departments of some of the world’s most successful tennis nations.
Do Tennis Coaches Earn Well?
Professional tennis players are directly responsible for their coaches. That is, hiring, firing and any other expenses. Therefore, getting good results and winning competitions is a key determinant of how well they earn.
Not only that, who they coach is another factor to consider. Coaches who are under the employ of good, highly ranked and winning tennis players are, according to our assessment at the top of the high earner’s lists.
It’s the contrary for those under the employ of lowly ranked players. Let’s take Kiranpal Pannu, who ranked No. 664 at the end of the 2023 season, with prize monies of $6,771 and expenses to the cost of $34,500.
We can only imagine how much he was able to pay his coach, and we think not that much, especially on a negative balance if we were to do some accounting. Therefore, we can safely say some earn good while others don’t.
How Much Do They Really Earn?
The figures are pretty sketchy and difficult to determine, however, based on contractual agreements between player and coach, the latter might receive a weekly or monthly payment, with other expenses paid on their behalf.
The amounts vary. We will therefore not focus on that aspect, but on the general percentage coaches get from their players’ prize monies, that is between 5 to 15%.
We believe that will help us easily hypothesise what coaches really earn. Let’s take the following scenarios into consideration.
We are going to use the current number one ranked male and female WTA and ATP players.
Aryna Sabalenka
- Current ranking: 1
- Singles Titles: 4
- Prize Money: $8,694,260
- W/L Singles: 54/12
Jannik Sinner
- Current ranking: 1
- Singles Titles: 7
- Prize Money: $12,032,935
- W/L Singles: 65/6
As we can see, both players have had great seasons and have made some decent or astronomical money, depending on your perspective. Let’s say both have agreements to pay their coaches weekly and 10% on annual prize money winnings.
Jannik Sinner would pay his coach, $1,203,293.5 million following the conclusion of the season, with Aryna Sabalenka paying her coach, $869,426, plus weekly wages and any other agreed upon bonuses.
Therefore, both coaches would most definitely have made good money in 2024. This might probably be the same for coaches of other players ranked in the top 10 or 100 of either the WTA or ATP.
We can’t say the same for lower ranked players who are scrapping their way up. A tennis coach would really have to be elite to earn good figures as there is no minimum wage. It is therefore difficult to determine what a said coach earns, or all coaches earn.
What we believe to be enlightening is the percentage break down they get from prize monies. That’s where the juice is, if we may say.
Jimmy is based in Johannesburg, South Africa and has a Diploma in Journalism and Media Studies. He’s a sports fanatic of several sporting disciplines which he is well versed with.