Carlos Alcaraz has just won the Roland Garros and Wimbledon 2024 titles. Rafa Nadal is in the final stage of his brilliant professional career in which he has achieved 22 Grand Slam titles, to date the second most in history after Novak Djokovic’s 24. We discuss what happens to professional tennis players when, decades after retiring from tennis, they retire from all types of activity.
Professional tennis players have their own Retirement Savings Plan. The ATP Players Retirement Plan aims to provide players with financial support during their retirement. This plan, which was formally established and launched in 1990, offers members benefits for 20 years from the age of 50.
The beginning of the retirement plan dates back to the early years of the ATP. The influential player Jaime Fillol played a key role in the establishment of this plan in the late 1980s. With the launch of the ATP Tour in 1990, the plan became one of the key programs for ATP member players.
The financial resources to make the contribution to the retirement plan are obtained from the income generated by the tournaments and players, partly from the cash prizes, and partly from the TV rights or licensing of the tournaments.
Requirements that professional tennis players must meet to be eligible to collect the retirement plan
Until now, a tennis player had to be in the elite of professional tennis for five years, among the top 125 in singles and among the top 40 in doubles. In addition, in 2018 an alternative plan was created for those who contributed for a period of three years.
Each year, a certain number of players (the last one was 300) are eligible for a year of credit (contribution) based on ATP tournament participation.
Each player eligible for the plan has a personal account and web access where they can view their plan information.
Current ATP Players’ Retirement Plan Numbers (2024)
In 2023, a total of $18.7 million was contributed to the ATP Player Retirement Plan fund. The ATP allocates the same amount of money to the pensions of the (so far) 165 eligible players each year.
Currently, 878 players retain economic rights in the plan. The 2023 contribution raised the fund’s total assets under management to $270 million, seven times the $37 million it had accumulated in 2000.
The 165 professional players who met eligibility criteria last season received $113,600 in contributions in 2023 (all the same amount).
The contribution in 2022 rose to 167,800 euros for each eligible player. This has gone from 10,800 dollars contributed in 2010 to 167,800 in 2022. The large increase in the contribution to the plan has been due to the tennis players themselves who contribute and the growth of the ATP itself, through profits from tournament licenses.
Taking advantage of the success of the plan and its importance for the players, the Retirement Plan will be expanded, starting this year 2024, from 165 players to 300 players with the right to participate :
- 150 singles players and 50 doubles players who meet the minimum number of ATP tournaments (four in singles, 10 in doubles) will be entitled to the full contribution.
- 100 tennis players competing in Challenger tournaments will receive a partial contribution.
The big news is that, for the first time, players from the second circuit of professional tennis will be granted the right to participate in the plan.
