Oli Golding

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

RE: Oli Golding

The Optimist · ATP qualifying

Comparing the funding situations for young adults in France, Spain etc with the UK is not really comparing like with like. There are more opportunities for players to pay their way in those countries. Coaching, court time etc is generally cheaper than in the UK. There are leagues which attract enough spectators and sponsors to pay quality players to play. There are many more domestic 'money events'. There is an economic culture with more small/medium size businesses which may be interested in sponsoring a player than in the UK.

In comparison, coaching input and court time in the UK is VERY expensive. We have the AEGON team tennis and some clubs do pay their players a nominal amount to play for them but it is pocket money compared to our continental cousins. We have the British Tour which works well but there are so many more opportunities in a country like Spain to play and earn money without travelling. Tennis, below Grand Slam level is seen in Britain as an amateur sport and does not attract many sponsors. A local firm sponsoring a local sportsperson on the continent may well reap benefits and make the local public think well of the firm. Our culture is different. Additionally, there is a myth that all British tennis players get so much from the LTA that they don't need sponsorship which makes finding any even harder.

indiana · Tennis legend

I think that you make some very good points there, Optimist. It is very clear ( OK, I don't know the details anything like as well as you and some others ), so basically as you say we are not really comparing like with like re the overall funding situation.

Many of us no doubt wish that there was much that was very different about tennis in the UK. But we are where we are, the funding is what it is, and I think that it is blooming ridiculous that this situation with Kyle has spiralled as it has. New people, new regime, some of the old lack of common sense and proportionality. As was said earlier, there really needs to be some approaches, some sitting down together and a search for solutions. OK, Oli has been taking quite a bit longer to come through than many would like, but it is clear that I am not alone in thinking he could still go pretty far. Personally, I still wouldn't discount him as a possible top 100 player and they are pretty rarely sighted in the UK.

We are not France or Spain, we are hardly overladen with talent. I would just love to think that someone in the LTA is making some priority of seeing how this might be sorted out.

At the end of the day, of course Kyle is entitled to turn his back on tennis for whatever period he chooses. But it appears to me that the path had been made unnecessarily too rocky for him, pushing him in directions far from his real wishes.

LordBrownof · Futures level

In athletics, the governing body usually addresses media questions about funding withdrawal of particular athletes- is this something we should come to expect from the LTA? I'd be interested to find ways to make the whole process more transparent to the public and the media.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Think you've got your Kyles and your Olis a little mixed up, Indy ::))

But you're A1 right - you'd hope that someone with experience and common sense and a bit of empathy would sit down with Oli and see if some sort of arrangement/understanding could be hashed out.

As has been said, it's often not a question of pounds and pennies, just a sense of support and commitment from those around you that's needed.

indiana · Tennis legend

Woops, hadn't even realised that Kyle had been infiltrating, and not just once. Curious...

Bob in Spain · Tennis legend

indiana wrote:
Woops, hadn't even realised that Kyle had been infiltrating, and not just once. Curious...

You certainly had me confused for a while. Mind you, that isnt very difficult disbelief

Madeline · Admin:Moderator + Tennis Legend

It had me worried! I was wondering just what had been going on in the last few hours that I had missed!

indiana · Tennis legend

My bad.

My bad for saying "My bad" :)

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

indiana wrote:
My bad.

My bad for saying "My bad" :)

Then for God's sake stop using such a ghastly Americanism! furious

indiana · Tennis legend

OK, not again, I just never had before.

Tick.

korriban · Challenger level

Not sure that Ricoh, who sponsored Oli on a 3 year deal in June 2012 will have been too chuffed about him giving up. This funding was in addition to his LTA support. Corporates don't tend to like being let down, although we don't know yet how long this break is going to be........I remember Oli's face plastered all over the O2 Arena for the World Tour Finals in 2012 with Ricoh sponsorship, but couldn't make it last year

-- Edited by korriban on Thursday 28th of August 2014 07:47:07 PM

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Ouch. Good point, Korri.

The Daily Mail article is similar to the Telegraph one but elaborates in a slightly different way:

www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/tennis/article-2736256/Oliver-Golding-following-Andy-Murray-s-footsteps-British-junior-ace-verge-quitting-tennis.html

EddietheEagle · County player

Could the NTC not offer a drop in service for touring professionals who wish to train between tournaments? Offset part of the need to fund coaching and/or court facilities elsewhere and thus reduce the costs of directly funding a player. What level of funding is actually being provided to players currently? I note that Dan Evans was travelling with both coach and physio at one point not so long ago.

Spectator · All-time great

No views here about what Mr Golding should or should not do - he doubtless has many options, and one can only wish him the best in whichever he chooses.

But to go back to sherbert's point about tennis players not having money to spend outside tennis because of low earnings and high costs. I think that's quite an issue actually. Yes, students are also often on a budget, as are other young people beginning other careers. But many of them are putting a short-term investment into something which has a reasonable shot of bringing them a decent income in the not-too-distant future, and there are mechanisms in place to make their investments more sensible (eg student loan repayment schedules linked to actual income)

By contrast, the young tennis players are in a sport where only about 150 to 200 people a year in the world are going to make enough from singles tour (ITF and ATP) tennis actually to have an income (after expenses) of more than about £15,000 or £20,000. So assuming that most players now "break through" at 24/25, if they don't go to university, you're talking roughly five or six years in which they will need to be singularly committed to their work, have very high outlays for work-related expenses, probably therefore run at a loss (with no equivalent of student loans) or only the thinnest of positive margins, live a peripatetic existence (which for some may be an attraction, but for others may negatively impact friendships and other relationships), forego other more lucrative options ... and perhaps at the end have very little financially to show for the investment, given the slim chances of making a living on the main Tour. Oh, and if it doesn't work out as they'd hoped, they'll then need to find work in their mid-20s without benefit of higher education and starting several years behind their peers.

Don't get me wrong: I know there's a huge attraction in playing a sport one loves, competing professionally, seeing the world, experiencing camaraderie etc. It's not a question of seeking pity. But sherbert's point seems a very fair one: the economics aren't great and they certainly don't encourage players who aren't an immediate "sure thing" to stick with the sport.

Great hearing from CD and The Optimist about systems in other places that enable players to put together careers that are more viable ... and that embed tennis in the popular consciousness at the same time.

-- Edited by Spectator on Thursday 28th of August 2014 09:15:31 PM