€30,000 a Year, Shared Rooms, Sacrifices": The Harsh Truth of a Player Outside the Top 150
He was once ranked 60th in the world (2021), now he sleeps in shared rooms to save money. In a moving testimony, Stefano Travaglia (ranked 232nd) sheds light on the hidden side of professional tennis.
In a world where the achievements of Djokovic, Alcaraz, or Sinner are in the spotlight, the vast majority of professional players operate far from the cameras, in the anonymity of Challenger tournaments, on empty courts, and often with empty wallets too.
Stefano Travaglia, a former world No. 60, is now sadly part of this reality. In an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Italian bluntly describes a reality too long ignored: being a professional tennis player, outside the top 150, often means living in a form of precariousness.
By 2024, Travaglia ended the season with a net gain of €30,000. A sum that seems indecent when you know the level of physical, mental, and financial demands of professional tennis. For comparison, an average football player in Italy's Serie C (the third division) earns double that.
In his testimony, Travaglia explains the sacrifices he must make due to a competitive but financially weak Challenger circuit. But above all, he responds to those who ask him why he continues to play despite these conditions.
"At my age, I would need a physio every day. But I can't. It's an investment I can't afford. We try to stay in double rooms to save money.
As for the Challenger circuit, the level is very high, starting from the qualifications. Young players produce modern tennis and aren't afraid of anything. So, you have to be very prepared physically […] You play a lot, nonstop, to accumulate results, but you struggle to climb the rankings.
Someone might ask me: 'But who pushes you to do it?' The answer is simple: the passion for this sport and the support of people who believe in me and encourage me every day.
