Wimbledon qualifier Oliver Tarvet vows to get creative with expenses

Straits Times

12 hours ago

Britain's Oliver Tarvet celebrates after winning his first round match against Switzerland's Leandro Riedi. PHOTO: REUTERS
LONDON – Britain's Oliver Tarvet aims to be creative with his expenses after the amateur beat fellow qualifier Leandro Riedi in his first Grand Slam match at Wimbledon on June 30.
The University of San Diego student rose to the occasion, dispatching his Swiss opponent 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
The 21-year-old now has the daunting task of facing Carlos Alcaraz in the second round on July 2 after the defending champion beat veteran Fabio Fognini.
Tarvet's victory came after he battled through three rounds of qualifying to make it to the grass-court Major. But the Briton, 733rd in the ATP rankings, will not profit significantly from his hard work.
Under National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rules in the United States, players are required to stay amateur and are restricted in how much prize money they can claim from professional tournaments.
Tarvet is planning to go back to university for his final year, meaning his Wimbledon prize money, which is now guaranteed to be at least £99,000 (S$173,000), will largely go unclaimed.
Tarvet can collect US$10,000 as well as the expenses he has incurred during the tournament.
He has called for a change in the rules, joking that he would fly his coach to London with a first-class ticket to try to ensure he would not have to forfeit too much.
After securing the biggest win of his career, Tarvet told reporters he hoped to find a way to claim the money as expenses.
'I will try and do everything I can to make that work out and to find X amount of expenses so I'm under US$10,000 of profit,' he said.
'Something I've got to figure out. Maybe I hire someone to help me out with the expenses, make sure the NCAA are happy. As I said, it's very important for me. I have a lot of goals at USD (University of San Diego) still.'
Tarvet, who said the win on the opening day at the All England Club was a 'dream come true', spelt out his strategy in more detail.
'By December, I need to show that profit or prize money minus expenses equals less than US$10,000,' he said.
He said after taxes were paid he would have to find £60,000-£70,000 of expenses to cover his winnings for reaching the second round.
'Tennis is an expensive sport. So, hopefully, I can make that happen,' he said to laughter.
'As I said, just pay my coaches a little bit extra. I don't know. We'll figure something out. Fly business class. Obviously, no, I keep humble. But yeah, really try to make that happen.'
On a serious note, Tarvet hugged his family at courtside after his win and insisted money was only part of his motivation at Wimbledon, regardless of how big a part it is.
'I think it would be good to see a change in the rules of the NCAA, but at the same time, I don't want to get involved. It's not really my place,' he added.
'We'll see. I'm not here for the money, I'm here for the crowd and the experience and just to stamp my mark. I think I've done a pretty good job so far.
'There's a lot of emotions, really overjoyed. All the hard work I put in the last few years has clearly paid off.' AFP, REUTERS
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