$1 Million to Go Pro? Dominic Thiem Exposes the Shocking Cost Behind Every Junior Tennis Star

$1 Million to Go Pro

The financial barrier to entry in tennis has become one of the sport’s defining debates. Governing bodies—the ATP, WTA, ITF, and the four Grand Slams—have all acknowledged the issue and launched initiatives like the ATP’s Baseline program. Player groups such as the Professional Tennis Players Association have also raised alarms over the high travel, coaching, and physio costs young players face, compared with the relatively meager prize money on the ITF and Challenger Tours.

Thiem put real numbers to it: “$80,000 to $100,000 per year” from ages 13 to 18. Over that span, a player’s family or backers easily invest close to $1 million before the athlete even establishes themselves on tour. For most families, that money doesn’t exist—meaning prospects are reliant on sponsors, academies, or national federations, often with strings attached to repay those investments later. Thiem’s own father spoke on this in 2018, specifically that Dominic and his brother Moritz had to drop out of school to compete. ” ‘A tennis career and school are incompatible. The school system does not allow a tennis career. The people in charge have no idea how time-consuming it is”

The Gatekeeping of Tennis

It’s a paradox: while tennis is delivering record-breaking TV ratings, ticket sales, and sponsorship revenue at the top level, access at the grassroots remains heavily gatekept.

Contrast this with global sports like football, basketball, or baseball, which aggressively scout and support talent from every corner of the world. Rising travel, training, and equipment costs only reinforce the barriers in tennis. Access to world-class coaching is generally restricted to expensive academies or to players from wealthy federations like the USTA, LTA, or Tennis Australia.

That raises the uncomfortable question: how many potential Alcarazes, Serenas, or Nadals are being lost to other sports—or lost altogether—because the pathway in tennis is prohibitively expensive?

Tennis Governing Bodies Must Do More

Thiem noted that he leaned on sponsorships to supplement his income, and now his own academy tries to provide opportunities for players from less privileged backgrounds. He’s not alone. Judy Murray—Andy and Jamie’s mother—has long spoken about the financial hurdles families face. In her recent book Game, Set & Murder, she recalled the financial strain of sending Andy to Barcelona at age 15: “We were going to need £30,000-35,000 a year. That was more than my entire salary.”

Andy Murray went on to become a multiple Grand Slam and Olympic champion—but many equally talented players never make it because the economics don’t add up.

The takeaway is clear: it’s not enough for tennis to showcase the sons of former champions like Björn Borg’s son Leo while shutting out talent from less wealthy countries or communities. If the sport is serious about its future, governing bodies need to dedicate real money to broad-based development—not just a select few already on the inside.

Otherwise, tennis risks shrinking further behind financial barriers and losing the next generation of great shotmakers before they even get their chance. Thiem, Murray, and others have sounded the alarm. It’s a call to action that the sport’s leaders cannot afford to ignore.