“If I could start my life over again, I wouldn’t play tennis again.“. These forceful words are those dedicated Maxime Janvierworld number 225, to the sport he makes a living from. As all players have said on multiple occasions, tennis can be a lonely sport that can burn you out, but these statements are striking because they come from a tennis player who has just made it through the qualifying round to qualify for the main draw for the first time. Wimbledon.
“Tennis disgusts me a lot, it disappoints me. When I was younger I didn’t think like that at all. I would never have dedicated myself to tennis if I had known,” explains the Frenchman in an interview with L’Equipe. “There is a permanent lack of stability. You can be 50 and the next year 800 in the world. You can’t take anything for granted and there is no protection. I no longer expect anything from this sport. When I was younger, I loved tennis. Today , it seems very unfair to me,” says Maxime.
“There are guys in the Top 300 who are better than the guys in the Top 50 simply because they get wildcards all the time. Players are prevented from moving up the rankings. You have to be like Mpetshi, who had to win two or three Challengers and do well in an ATP 250. The one in the Top 50 only has to win one match and that is already worth as many points as a Challenger final. It is practically impossible to reach the top, all of that has kept me away from this sport. If I could. start my life again, I wouldn’t play tennis. I wouldn’t play football or basketball.
Why don’t you just leave him then?
“For the prizes. It’s very hard, because a prize can make your life completely change in three months if you play well. If it weren’t for the financial aspect, I would have quit a long time ago. Of course, playing Wimbledon, making second weeks… I prefer that to other jobs, that’s why I continue. If in three years I am in the Top 400, I will give myself three months to climb the ranking again and if not, I will leave it. at any level, transmit my knowledge. What I like about tennis is that you are your own boss. You don’t have anyone above you.
He had to ask the bank for a loan of €50,000
I was broke! Completely ruined. Too much stress. I worked 24 hours a day and ended the month with losses of €2,000 or €3,000. I couldn’t continue, it was unbearable, horrible. I will never have a coach again, I have been on my own for two years. Too many expenses, I don’t earn anything. I’m a minimum wage tennis player. If I stop tomorrow, I’m at zero. I have never had help from my family or anyone. There are guys with worse rankings, but with sponsors. I have tried to find sponsors, but no one wants. “I don’t know how it works, I don’t have the answers.”
Now you have €70,000 insured by qualifying for Wimbledon… or not
“That bothers me. It’s totally false to say that I earn €70,000. First of all, they take away the taxes from the country where you play, normally 20 or 30%, and then they charge you taxes again in France. You have to pay for the hotel, the physio, the strings, the food, the flight back. Then I know that I have to go back to Challenger, where it’s €400 gross in the first round, if you lose, you lose money. I wouldn’t wish this life of tennis on anyone, unless it’s the only thing you like. For seven years, I didn’t have a week’s holiday. I don’t enjoy it at all.”
Difference in treatment
“Playing with friends is fun, but tennis is my job. We are the lowest of the low. You lose in any round of Wimbledon and the next day you can’t get in. They kick you out. They don’t respect us, they don’t treat us well. There are differences in treatment. Nadal, Federer… they have a four-hour court, the central court in Melbourne, the one at Roland Garros to train. We have a maximum of 30 minutes and we have to share the court. “You deserve it. In a competition, you have to be treated fairly, but that’s not the case, it’s very unequal. It’s a reflection of life in general.”
2024-06-30 20:30:00
#dont #life
