There are just 2 days left until Rafa Nadal’s last dance on a tennis court. At 38 years old, Rafa Nadal announced his final retirement on October 10 through a video on social networks. “I am very excited that my last tournament is the Davis Cup final representing my country,” proclaimed the winner of 22 Grand Slams after a season in which he was only able to play 19 matches. Between November 19 and 24, at the Martín Carpena pavilion in Malaga, the best Spanish tennis player of all time will say goodbye to his career.
A withdrawal that has unleashed madness among fans who seem willing to go all out to avoid missing Nadal’s last breath on a tennis court. Since the Spaniard announced the end of his career and set a date for it, ticket resale prices are truly crazy. And the season tickets were sold out more than a month ago and no one wants to miss the farewell of a legend. What will happen from here and what retirement will Rafa Nadal have?
The final goodbye
Once the Davis Cup ends in Malaga, The Spaniard will put an end to his career and will cease to amaze with his game on the court. The Spanish legend leaves this sport having won 22 Grand Slams, including 14 Roland Garros.
After a long career of 23 years, Nadal grew as an athlete and this generated more and more money over time. As reflected on the official ATP website, his career has translated into 134,808,161 million dollars, which includes earnings from single and double prizes. Forty million less than Novak Djokovic, one of his greatest rivals; specifically 176,231,853 million dollars, according to the same medium. Roger Federer is below both with total earnings of more than 130 and a half million.
According to Forbes, His assets are estimated at almost 300 million euros.. But are you entitled to a pension after retirement? We tell you How the tennis players’ pension plan to which Nadal will be entitled works.
All the keys to the Savings plan
Professional tennis players They have their own Savings-Retirement Plan. The ATP Player Retirement plan aims to provide players with financial support during their retirement. This plan, which was formally established and launched in 1990, offers plan participants benefits for 20 years starting at age 50.
The beginning of the retirement plan dates back to the early years of the ATP. The influential player Jaime Fillol played a key role in the late 1980s in establishing this plan. With the launch of the ATP Tour in 1990, the plan became one of the key programs for ATP member players.
The financial resources to make the contribution to the retirement plan are obtained from the income generated by the tournaments and players, on the one hand, from the cash prizes, and from the TV or licensing rights of the tournaments.
However To collect it they must meet a series of requirements.
Until now, a tennis player must be in the elite of professional tennis for five years, among the best 125 in singles and among the best 40 in doubles. Additionally, in 2018 an alternative plan was created for those who contributed for a period of three years. Each year, a certain number of players (most recently 300) are eligible for one year of credit (contribution) based on participation in ATP tournaments.
Each player eligible for the plan has a personal account and web access where they can view their plan information. In 2023, a total of $18.7 million was contributed to the ATP Player Retirement Plan fund. The ATP allocates the same amount of money for the pension of the (so far) 165 players who meet the requirements each year.
The 2023 contribution raised the fund’s total assets under management to $270 million, which represents a considerable increase compared to the $37 million accumulated in 2000.
The 165 professional players who met the eligibility criteria last season received $113,600 (about 105,000 euros) as a contribution in 2023.
The contribution in 2022 amounted to 167,800 euros for each eligible player. It has gone from $10,800 contributed in 2010 to $167,800 in 2022. This notable increase is due both to the contributions of the tennis players themselves and to the growth of the ATP, through the profits from tournament licenses. Starting this year, the Retirement Plan has been expanded, allowing 300 players to participate.
Are you entitled to a public pension?
Yes but not the maximum. The problem is that they do not contribute for enough years to collect the maximum pension despite their income. That is, the amount of the pension will depend on the contribution base chosen to contribute, as well as the years of contributions, as in the case of any other pensioner. Currently you have to contribute for a minimum of 15 years to be able to collect the minimum pension. Furthermore, two of these years must be within the 15 years immediately prior to retirement.
This last requirement is the main handicap for the majority of professional athletes who usually retire around the age of 40 at the latest. Furthermore, due to salary and income, many tennis players earn enough to have the maximum pension, but they do not get it because they do not meet the years necessary to receive 100% of the retirement pension.
To reach the maximum retirement pension, which is the maximum limit allowed by Social Security, it is necessary to have contributed a minimum of 37 years and 6 months, a figure that will progressively increase to 38 years and 6 months by 2027.
