Tennis
How to Become a Professional Tennis Player
Starting out somewhere in tennis is not debatable. In fact, starting off younger is best recommended and the best in tennis can attest. We lay it out for you.
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Starting out to chase the dream of becoming a professional tennis player is exciting or daunting, depending on how you view it.
There are certain things to do and levels of the game to go through. Perhaps not so straightforward, but there is a way.
Starting off young is one of the things we recommend you should do in this piece. Following which you must grind it out rigorously. We layout the pathway for you in the simplest of ways.
Being a Professional Tennis Player
We see the Coco Gauffs and Jannik Sinners of this world and assume that their path to being tennis professionals was laid out for them.
Not knowing the amount of sweat and tears they put in to get to that level. Endless hours of training, psychological sharpening and learning are required. It is not easy, and they too can attest to that fact.
We explore how one can be a professional tennis player in the most direct way we can. It’s a path most tennis professionals can look at and recall in their respective ascendancies.
Start Young, the Sooner the Better
It’s best to start out playing tennis in your formative years. We know this might not apply to our reader in that sense, but perhaps, just perhaps, you'll have a child who wants to turn pro one day.
Therefore, this section will be helpful in that regard. Young children often play sports on intuition before they master any technicalities, such as backhand shots or sliced shots.
It is at this stage where they learn just the basics. How to hit a ball, positioning, holding the racquet, sets in a game, sportsmanship, break points and other elementary things before they develop a deeper understanding of the game.
Starting out young also helps in scouting opportunities, joining tennis communities, associations or clubs that will help along the journey to pro-level.
Once an acquaintance is made with the latter, it is easier to know what path to follow. That is, the tournaments to participate in, points or accomplishments needed to set you on the path.
Carlos Alcaraz is the youngest professional tennis player to be ranked World No.1, at 19 years and 129 days on September 12th, 2022.
Get a Coach
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Getting a coach to teach and guide is important. We cannot suggest starting of young without a coach, the two are inseparable. A young tennis player needs a mentor to help sharpen their skills.
Serena Williams and Venus Williams are prime examples of what proper coaching at a young age can do for a tennis player. Oracene Price and Richard Williams trained the sisters earlier on before sending them over to Rick Macci.
From Macci’s own recollection, Serena and Venus believe they were brainwashed to greatness, with Serena particularly not being that good at 10 years.
Start Playing in National and Junior Tournaments
As you progress along the journey, playing in national and junior tournaments is the next logical step. This is where you will test yourself against other tennis players and improve your skills.
The more games you get under your belt at this level help you sharpen your technique and develop mental strength.
Competition brings out nerves and anxiety, forcing you to manage those emotions to develop more poise for the future. Some of the other advantages of competing at this level are as follows:
Tracking Your Improvement: Over time you will be able to track your improvement, or lack thereof. That is what a competitive environment provides, as compared to practice, which is not as intense.
You will also be able to see where you rank compared to your peers. This affords you the opportunity to set attainable goals and objectives.Getting Used to Travelling: Professional tennis involves a lot of travelling. Tournaments are hosted across numerous countries in a season. Take the four Grand Slams for instance, that’s a total of four countries.
This will prime you for the demands of being a professional tennis player, which include being away from home for long periods of time.Becoming Part of a Tennis Community: With tennis being an individual sport, isolation is somewhat of a factor. Although you’d have your coach and support structure there with you, having a network of other tennis players is a good thing.
It’s a social aspect that is very much needed. Talking to other tennis players about non-related topics or being in group chats that discuss rankings, and other things will really give you the feeling of being part of the fraternity or family.Winning Accolades Early On: Winning accolades and trophies gives external validation for your dedication to the game. This helps reinforce the amount of time you would have put in to hone your craft.
The inverse is also true here. Not winning can either propel you to push forward or lead to tossing of the towel early on.Developing Mental and Physical Tenacity: Competition has tremendous physical, mental and emotional benefits. You will be training more to attain a certain level of fitness and your interactions with other players will help combat mental health issues like depression and loneliness.
Try to Secure a Sponsor
Expenses must be factored in for someone trying to make it to pro-level in tennis. There is a lot of input financially. Let’s take travelling and hiring a coach for instance.
Unless you are from a wealthy background, someone needs to foot the bill. Therefore, you need to be playing well and showing some potential. Anyone who is going to invest in you wants to see some sort of return on investment.
The simple and straight forward way of getting a sponsor is by demonstrating through your performances and rankings as you make your way up.
Kit sponsors would want to pour into someone who will get their brand recognised, either now, or in the future. It’s a reciprocal relationship.
Move on to Playing Futures and Challengers
At this point, you are close to just realizing your dream. We might as well call you a professional, because Futures and Challengers are lower tier competitions where you now really grind it out to make it to the top.
This is where you earn the requisite points to compete with the best in tennis. Roger Federer has one ATP Challenger title, Andy Murray two and Novak Djokovic has three. It’s hard to bypass this level straight to the top. This is where the chaff is separated from the wheat.
Now that you have it mapped up in your mind after reading along with us, you can journey along to stardom. We will be there, ready to document your successes.
FAQs
Tennis requires a lot of travel, and most professionals are away from home for long periods in a year. 30-50 weeks is around the estimated time tennis players are on the road.
There is a contrast between the top ranked players and the lower ranked ones. Those higher up earn significantly more than their counterparts.
A lot of inputs must be factored in. Travel, equipment and the likes are at times costly and getting a sponsor can cushion that.
Professional tennis players have a diverse team of professionals that help them achieve the optimal level. Training is often intense and demanding.
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.