Tennis: Just a load of hard slog

By Terry Maddaford

Late 1980s, Brett Steven, new boy on the ATP Tour. Ranking? Around 900. In Honolulu for a tournament, walking down the road with another budding tennis professional.

"There was a flash car - I think it was a Porsche - parked at the side of the road. We just stared at it," Steven said. "The guy I was with laughed and said to me if I got good enough I could own one.

"Five years later I could easily have afforded a Porsche. But I never got one."

Therein lies the story of Brett Steven - off and on the court. He could have followed those who made big money and spent up large on the flashy lifestyle. And fast cars. He chose otherwise. With no regrets.

On the eve of his last hurrah - the Davis Cup tie against Spain in Hamilton from September 24-26 - Steven can look back with a wry smile and a deal of satisfaction on a career which earned him almost $US2.5 million.

"I would not want my kids to go and do what I did. I left home as a 16-year-old, which must have been desperately hard on my parents," he said.

"For nine months a year I lived out of a suitcase. For 12 of 15 years [injury kept him off the tour for a couple of years] I was on the road.

"It was never easy, but I absolutely loved it. I loved the sport for what it was. I never went into it to make a living.

"There were dozens of players better than me in my younger days, but for a variety of reasons - bad luck or the lack of desire - they never got out of it what I did."

For those Kiwi youngsters determined to pack their racket, a couple of pairs of tennis shoes and head off in search of fame and fortune, beware. It is, Steven will assure you, a dog-eat-dog world out there.

You fall, and maybe, occasionally, rise on your rankings. "It is not like golf where young players can develop their game here, go and play the Nike Tour, get some good results and step up to the PGA Tour.

"One really good result there will ensure your survival for 12 months or, with a victory, the next two years.

"On the [ATP] tour there are now around 1500 ranked players. Below that there are some really good players. When I reached 32 - my highest ranking - I had about 900 ranking points. Now they would only be worth between 40 and 45 on the list.

"The bottom line is it is all about getting your ranking up. There is no easy way to achieve that. Just hard work."

For New Zealanders like Mark Nielsen, Alistair Hunt, James Greenhalgh and university-based James Shortall, life is one big rollercoaster - with more dips than rises.

Greenhalgh, who had a career-high singles ranking of 327 in 1995, and 89th place on the doubles list earlier this year (he is now at 130), has earned $US35,815 in 1999 and $US87,293 in total.

Nielsen, the up-and-comer, is ranked 269 but on the earnings list is at 488 with just $US6554 this year.

"Mark has to watch every cent he spends," said Steven. "When he goes to a restaurant he has to be very budget-conscious. Often guys sleep three to a room to save money. It is a tough life. There is only so much parents and the federation can do.

"It is even more difficult trying to do it from New Zealand. Anything I made came from prizemoney. I never had huge [sponsorship] contracts. It is very difficult these days to get anything for nothing. I was happy to get the 30 rackets and 30 or 40 pairs of shoes I needed each year free.

"If I had been from a European country where tennis has a far greater profile, I could have earned half again off the court as what I made on it.

"It costs a fortune to run your business, which is what the life of a touring professional is."

For New Zealand youngsters there are options, including a development circuit in Australia where there are around a dozen points-earning tournaments. These range from one Grand Slam event, the Australian Open, down to two ATP championships, one challenger, four futures and a couple of satellites.

The futures and satellites are the first step where points gained boost ranking. This in turn leads to challenger qualifying and the challenger tournaments. Challenger tournaments have prizemoney of $US25,000, with $US4000-$5000 to the winner Then follow the ATP championship tournaments, including the ASB Bank Classic in Auckland in January, worth $US350,000 - the lowest level on the ATP Tour.

The really big money is in the Grand Slams - the United States Open, as an example, boasts $US14.5million in prizemoney with $US750,000 to the men's and women's winners - and other high profile tournaments, including the end-of-season Super 9.

These tournaments remain the domain of the very best. New Zealand's budding stars, male and female, are light years away from even getting in the gate.

In players like Lee Radovanovich, Shortall, Eru Lyndon, Matthew Prentice, Rewa Hudson, Leanne Baker, Ivana Jovanovic and Tanja Markovic there is hope that a blazing star might not be too many years away.

But as Brett Steven reiterates, there is no substitute for hard work - and a bit of luck.