The 250 Square Foot View

Roger Federer, arguably the greatest men’s tennis player of all time, has earned about $3 million in 2011, not including endorsements. His rival, Rafael Nadal, has made in excess of $6 million, and top-ranked Novak Djokovic, who recently completed a historic season that included three major titles, has pocketed nearly $11 million.

If you are one of the top men’s players in the world, a career in tennis can be pretty lucrative. But what if you’re the 978th ranked player in the world?

“I am losing money most weeks,” said Peter Aarts, a professional tennis player from Pound Ridge (Westchester County), N.Y. The 24-year-old Aarts turned pro in August 2009 after graduating from the University of Michigan three months prior with a degree in English.

“Maybe if you are 300th in the world, you can break even if you are wise and a little frugal,” said Aarts.

Though Aarts’ singles rank is in the 900s, he has been ranked as high as 391st in the world in doubles, rotating with three or four different doubles partners depending on who’s in town that week.

Like many American college students who graduated into the recession, Aarts’ career options were limited. He says several of his classmates from Michigan had committed to finance jobs during senior year, only to find out those positions were eliminated before they could claim them. So for Aarts, the decision to turn pro was easier than it might have been.

And yes, playing tennis for a living beats job hunting, resume tweaking, and cover letter writing, but it’s still, unmistakably, work.

“It’s the biggest grind you can imagine,” said Aarts, who travels 31 to 32 weeks a year playing tournaments in the U.S. and abroad. His playing schedule is a mix of “Challengers” and “Futures,” the second and third tiers of professional tennis tournaments below the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which includes majors like the U.S. Open and Wimbledon.

Like many pros at his level, Aarts may as well add “Travel Agent” to his resume. He spends hours on end researching flights online and filing the paperwork for international visas when necessary.

“I usually only book one-way flights,” said Aarts, because he never knows when he’ll be leaving—it all depends on how long he survives in a given tournament. “Some days I wake up and I forget what city I’m in.”

In 2010, Aarts played five tournaments in five weeks in India and China. He also plays in South and Central America as often as he can—the cost of living is more favorable than in the U.S., tournaments are frequent there, and he speaks Spanish.

The entry fees for Challengers and Futures tournaments are about $40, and the prize pool for most tournaments is typically either $10,000 or $15,000, split among all participants based on where they finish. Meaning, if a player wins a $10,000 tournament, he’ll only take home about $1,300.

To help pay for his travel expenses, Aarts has a group of sponsors made up of family friends and other supporters who have known him for most of his tennis life. Some sponsors have contributed money, and one even chipped in with frequent flier miles.

At one point, Aarts set himself up as a limited liability corporation, borrowing that idea from his former assistant coach at Michigan, Michael Kosta. Aarts has since dissolved the LLC, though he maintains the partnership with his sponsors. (Kosta is now a working stand-up comedian in Los Angeles.)

Aarts’ arrangement with his sponsors is as follows: They keep him afloat financially and in exchange, they receive the lion’s share of his earnings. Once his sponsors have recouped their initial investments, the percentages flip and he keeps the majority of his winnings.

Retaining a full-time coach is another luxury common to the top players. But at Aarts’ level, it takes four or five players like himself to pool their resources and hire a coach, whose services they then share for as long as they can afford it—sometimes just for a week at a time.

“And sometimes,” Aarts said, “you just have to figure it out on your own.”

Aarts started the 2011 season hoping to crack the top 600 in singles, which, with his current ranking, could be difficult but not impossible with about two months to go. In his estimation, there’s not much disparity in skill level between the 200th ranked singles player and the 1,000th. The trick, he says, is maintaining a high level of play for longer stretches over the course of the season.

“Anyone can have one or two good weeks,” said Aarts. The question is, “How can I have one or two good months?”

Aarts plans to sit down with his sponsors at the end of the year to evaluate his finances, but says he wants to continue playing professionally through 2012, with a goal of competing in the qualifying tournament for the 2012 U.S. Open.

“Right now, there is nothing that I would rather do tomorrow than get up and be able to try and push myself to become a little better,” said Aarts.