League matches. Sometimes a prickly thorn in your schedule – with the only reason to play being prize money and maybe some extra match play. Other times, it becomes an incredibly gratifying experience in which you cultivate lovely relationships with the team, the area, and the club, and all the people in them.
I’m currently in Grenoble, France playing the Pro A French league for TC Fontainebleau. We have played 2 weeks (4 matches) of French league for TC Fontainebleau, a club where I have played for 3 years now and have really come to have a great fondness for and sense of belonging in. Even though I do not speak a lick of French, that is the power of a league match: if you find the right place and take the time to create a relationship with the club. If not, you fly in as late as possible for the match, “do your job,” and then leave shortly after.
I have played many league matches. Here is a list of all of the league matches I have played in my career: German, Polish, Austrian, British, Belgian, French, Czech, Italian and Indian. (I was struggling financially on tour when I first started.) I’ve also received offers for Slovakian and Australian leagues. I have had a mixed bag of experiences in all of the aforementioned leagues.
Positive aspects of leagues
“Finally, a match where I receive a guaranteed paycheck, no matter what!” – My thoughts whenever I play a league match.
In this industry of no guaranteed income ever, it’s a relaxing feeling to travel to a location for a set amount of money that I will make irregardless of the outcome. Financially, leagues are also a beneficial and relatively easy way for us, the players outside the top 100, to finance the rest of the year. A clever athlete can earn over 10,000 euros by playing a few league matches per year. That is almost the equivalent of qualifying for a Grand Slam.
I can also plan! My tournament weeks are full of unknowns – I typically don’t know what my day will look like from one to the next. League matches remind me a lot about team sports. There is a set time for the match to start, a set time for the match to end, and organised travel arrangements to and from. No last-minute flight bookings, crazy late-night matches followed by another match the next morning, or struggling to plan laundry, practice and meetings.
And finally, league matches can offer a nurturing, wholesome environment in which to expand your cultural horizons, meet lovely people, and build a relationship with a place you would otherwise never have even visited.
Negative aspects of leagues
“Why did I commit to playing this league match? I could be playing a tournament instead!” – Also my thoughts while playing a league match.
Yes, I can make the equivalent of qualifying for a Grand Slam, but let’s be honest: nobody became a professional tennis player to play league matches. We play this sport for the prestige of playing in a Grand Slam. Financially, the two may be the same, but the glory, honour, and reward of playing at Wimbledon or the US Open is priceless. (Additionally, the standard of living between the ITF tour and the WTA is vast, as I have commented on before.)
Now you might be thinking: why not just do both, play the leagues and the Grand Slams? Best of both worlds, right? Of course, that’s the dream, and that is precisely what we are all trying to do. However, league matches are finicky, time-consuming, bar you from playing a tournament that week, and take time and energy. Let alone even more travel, and usually during very inconvenient times of the year. (I’m looking right at you, German league in May and June during Roland Garros and Wimbledon time.)
Leagues usually require you to commit months in advance. They do not care whether you have been injured recently and are now finally excited to play tournaments, are on a winning streak, or are exhausted and burned out. Your contract says you must play, so you play.
There have been times when I have committed to league matches months in advance during a hard period on tour. I may be losing matches, needing some money or confidence on court, or just craving a stress-free match. Then, when the league comes around, I am playing my best tennis, winning matches, excited to play tournaments to earn some points, and BAM, my plans are thwarted because I had committed a long time ago. It’s a very thorny situation that we must navigate.
In a tournament schedule of over 30 weeks per year, leagues are another extra travel burden on top of that. Sometimes, it becomes too much and may hurt your tennis in the long term. We, the players outside of the top 100, have to ask ourselves: do I want to make money now, or do I want to prepare better for the next tournament? It’s a difficult crossroad.
Disclaimer: As always, I am not complaining about my job. This may come off as “Oh, poor me, I have to choose between making money and playing tournaments to try to make even more money.” I do not want it to seem like this at all. I am incredibly grateful for the safety net that leagues offer us and for the exhilaration of the professional tour. I am simply providing insight into the nuances and details of a professional’s life on tour.