How A lot Do Desk Tennis Gamers Earn? • Racket Perception

Most desk tennis fanatics discover pleasure in watching the best exponents of the game play. Ma Lengthy by no means ceases to amaze me after years of following him.

For 99% of us, desk tennis is a interest that makes us really feel higher. For lower than 0.1% of gamers, desk tennis is their job.

Have you ever ever questioned how a lot a desk tennis participant earns, and even thought of changing into an expert participant your self?

We’ve examined a whole lot of sources to gather essentially the most complete abstract of participant earnings out there wherever.

Prize Cash at Desk Tennis Tournaments

The very first thing we checked out to estimate the wage of desk tennis gamers was the prize cash per occasion.

These figures are public information, so we’ve got information about how a lot every participant earns in an important worldwide occasions.

Beginning with the WTT occasions, the general prize cash is as follows:

That’s the whole cash to be distributed all through the occasion, and it is usually stipulated within the rule e-book that gamers of each genders should obtain equal pay.

On the first Grand Smash in Singapore, Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng, champions of the occasion, received US$100,000.

As for the remainder of the gamers who competed, they have been awarded the next quantities:

We will see {that a} regular singles outcome, akin to reaching the spherical of 16, nets gamers $15,000.

Though the prize cash isn’t as excessive as in tennis, for instance, it has vastly improved in recent times.

On the 2019 World Cup, Fan Zhendong and Liu Shiwen, winners of the boys’s and ladies’s singles occasions respectively, took dwelling simply $60,000.

To make a comparability, at Wimbledon that 12 months the winner of every occasion took dwelling $2.9 million.

Inf News feedback that if the very best gamers on the planet earn $200,000 or $300,000 per season in prize cash, this isn’t practically sufficient for the very elite of the game. They go so far as to say that the prize cash is “pitiful” compared to different sports activities.

They state this as a result of utilizing that prize cash, gamers need to cowl many pricey bills akin to their keep, flights, the wage of their coaches and help employees, and so forth. Other than that, plenty of taxes on that prize cash need to be paid.

As well as, nearly all of gamers who play the very best paying occasions and end within the prime positions are often simply the ten or 20 finest gamers on the planet.

The majority of desk tennis salaries for {most professional} gamers is earned from their league salaries, as solely 10 or 20 gamers on your complete planet earn substantial quantities from prize cash.

Desk tennis league salaries

Leagues are the primary supply of earnings for skilled desk tennis gamers. Gamers are employed by groups to play in varied nationwide leagues. 

Nevertheless, these golf equipment don’t disclose how a lot they pay their gamers, so we don’t have the precise numbers for many circumstances. Regardless of that, we are able to positively estimate what a traditional wage is relying on the league.

The most important leagues are the Chinese language Tremendous League and the German Bundesliga. A lot of the Chinese language superstars play within the Chinese language Tremendous League, while a lot of the prime European gamers ply their commerce within the Bundesliga. 

Different crucial leagues are the Japanese league, the French league, the Spanish league, the Korean league, and the Russian league.

One of the best European groups from every of the nationwide leagues qualify for the European Champions League, the place gamers are paid much more.

The wage of the gamers varies loads relying on a number of components:

1. The league they play in.
2. The extent and ITTF rating of the participant.
3. What number of wins the participant will get.

All these components are crucial when figuring out gamers’ salaries. Salaries in desk tennis often have many clauses relying on the victories that the participant obtains.

The fundamental financial precept of shortage additionally comes into play in desk tennis. 

A participant ranked twentieth on the planet is extremely coveted amongst golf equipment for apparent causes: there are solely 19 gamers on the planet higher than them. Due to this, they are going to have the ability to request a really excessive wage.

World-class gamers like Ma Lengthy and Fan Zhendong are millionaires. It’s exhausting to say how a lot they earn as a result of the figures usually are not official, however simply with their league wins and event outcomes they already earn tens of hundreds of {dollars} per 30 days.

According to tabletennischicago.com, world-class gamers can earn between $3,000 and $35,000 per win. This supply provides that Timo Boll and Dimitrij Ovtcharov earned $16,000 per win after they performed within the Chinese language Tremendous League.

Additionally they say that by including these values ​​along with the prize cash, the very best gamers on the planet earn round $100,000 per 30 days and that the very best wage ever was $267,000 per 30 days.

That is with out considering any sponsors nor the wage from being of their respective nationwide groups (China pays their gamers for taking part in in each the nationwide and the provincial groups).

Gamers between positions 20 and 100 additionally earn very nicely within the leagues during which they play.

As for the gamers between rank 100 and rank 200 on the planet, they’ve common salaries, as in the event that they labored in another job, possibly a bit extra.

Our private sources inform us that the salaries per season within the France Professional A begin at €27,000. Including bonuses to that equation and relying on the participant it could possibly go as much as €70,000.

France Professional A star gamers akin to Benedek Olah and Joao Geraldo needs to be incomes across the most restrict, whereas different lesser-known gamers earn what is critical to dwell and help themselves.

Skilled gamers usually take part in two completely different leagues per 12 months.

A user on the Tabletennisdaily forums shared the next info:

“Salaries in China are a lot bigger than in Europe.”

According to Inf News, Chinese language gamers earn cash for being on the provincial and nationwide desk tennis groups, so in case you are a provincial-caliber participant, you’ll have your league wage along with the wage supplied by the state.

As well as, the league wage of Ma Lengthy or Fan Zhendong is round 5 million yuan per 12 months (about $750,000), however common gamers within the Chinese language league earn between 300,000 and 500,000 yuan per 12 months (between $45,000 and $75,000).

For these European gamers who play in barely lesser-known divisions, such because the German second or third division, or the primary divisions of much less outstanding international locations, they’re often paid for his or her keep and a wage on prime of that.

What these smaller golf equipment often do is lease a home or two residences for all of the gamers on the crew. They dwell collectively and practice collectively, and on prime of that, they’re paid a wage that may vary from 500 to three,000 euros per 30 days.

In India, desk tennis gamers are given jobs in the government with out them needing to do something however deal with their sporting careers. They’d later work within the authorities after ending their profession.

As we are able to see, the wage of every athlete relies upon loads on the place the place they’re taking part in and their nationality. China and India, for instance, assist their gamers loads financially.

In conclusion, we are able to say that in case you are within the prime 200 of the ITTF, you can also make a residing from desk tennis.

Whether or not you earn sufficient to save lots of for when your sports activities profession is over, that’s one other story. In case you’re within the prime 150, in all probability. If not, it’s extra sophisticated.

Nearly your complete ITTF circuit has sponsors, it doesn’t matter what rating you’ve gotten. These ranked within the decrease positions akin to place 1000 often have sponsors who cowl their rubbers or give them reductions on tools.

Many gamers within the prime 200 obtain financial compensation for utilizing the model’s merchandise.

Elite gamers additionally receives a commission for offering their picture rights to their very own blade mannequin, such because the Butterfly Timo Boll ALC, the DHS Hurricane Lengthy, the Xiom Hugo Calderano HAL, the Tibhar Samsonov Pressure Professional, and so forth.

Everyone knows the Stiga Cybershape as an excellent blade as a result of Truls Moregardh completed second within the 2021 WTTC utilizing it. In any other case, it certainly wouldn’t have been as profitable within the gross sales division.

Then, Truls will get paid extra if he has good outcomes utilizing Stiga tools. For world-class gamers, sponsorships are a giant a part of their earnings.

For some gamers like Zhang Jike, desk tennis provides them superstar standing and will get them different forms of sponsors, akin to trend, exterior of desk tennis.

Ma Lengthy and Timo Boll additionally usually seem on TV exhibits of their native international locations.

Who’s the highest-paid desk tennis participant?

Understanding what we all know, Ma Lengthy is probably the highest-paid participant in desk tennis.

Ma Lengthy earns cash in many various methods.

To start with, he earns his wage within the Chinese language Tremendous League. If it’s not the very best wage, it’s positively one of many highest.

Secondly, Ma Lengthy has his wage because the finest participant on the Chinese language Nationwide Crew.

Thirdly, Ma Lengthy is the flagship participant of one of the vital essential desk tennis manufacturers on the planet, DHS.

Lastly, we’ve got the prize cash for the tournaments during which he participates.

All this with out counting all of the commercials during which he seems in his nation and all through the world.

From this, we are able to conclude that Ma Lengthy is the highest-paid participant in desk tennis, and it’s nicely deserved, as he’s the best table tennis player in history.

What can desk tennis gamers do after they retire?

Desk tennis gamers dedicate hours and hours to their craft, to the purpose that Ma Long said in an interview that in tournaments he has no psychological house to speak to his household. It’s actually a really taxing sport.

Usually, desk tennis gamers begin their careers at a really younger age. {Most professional} desk tennis gamers began taking part in between the ages of 4 and 10.

Calling desk tennis a “profession” at that age might appear to be an exaggeration, however it actually isn’t. There are little kids who train for hours upon hours every day and journey the world to play tournaments of their age class.

So desk tennis gamers begin at a really younger age, and their profession often ends after they’re between 34 and 40 years previous, though there are exceptions.

Jan Ove Waldner and Vladimir Samsonov performed into their 40s, and He Zhi Wen is still playing professionally in his 60s.

Nevertheless, all skilled sports activities careers eventually come to an finish (even for He Zhi Wen!). What does a participant do when their profession is over?

Most ex-pro gamers go on to develop into coaches, and it’s an excellent profession to pursue for quite a few causes.

To start with, should you have been ever ranked within the ITTF world rankings checklist, you have been a world-class participant in some unspecified time in the future, so you may cost excessive charges to your classes. It’s not straightforward to realize even one ITTF level.

Skilled gamers not solely assume all day lengthy concerning the sport, however additionally they get recommendation from the finest coaches on the planet and focus on methods and ways with different equally prodigious gamers.

Only a few folks have this information, they usually can cost common gamers some huge cash for educating them the information that world-class coaches and gamers as soon as taught them after they have been a participant.

Along with this, from refining their methods a lot, they’ve a way more detailed eye than the remainder of the gamers, each in technical and tactical phrases. 

They perceive the tactical improvement of a match completely they usually additionally know what the very best methods are for every participant.

For this reason they’ll retire and be a private coach for skilled gamers or educate strange gamers for a excessive hourly payment. Many additionally set up their personal golf equipment.

If you’re actually enthusiastic about desk tennis and play on the highest stage, it is possible for you to to dwell from it all of your life.

Is desk tennis profession for you?

It’s a very sophisticated determination. I’d say that desk tennis is an effective profession for you should you meet sure standards.

If you wish to play desk tennis professionally, you have to actually love the game, and also you have to be prepared to spend the overwhelming majority of your time hitting a desk tennis ball.

For many gamers, together with myself, that is troublesome and tiring. Most of us play 4-12 hours every week for leisure, however skilled gamers want to coach round 6-8 hours a day.

If you wish to be an expert, I invite you to strive for a number of months to comply with the routine of an expert, desk tennis coaching, bodily coaching (weights+cardio), and vitamin included. In case you don’t like that life-style, I don’t assume being a professional desk tennis participant is the appropriate alternative for you.

If you’re prepared to do what we’ve got simply talked about, you need to ask your self when you have the talent stage required to be an expert. This have to be contemplated over time.

If you’re younger, you have to be among the many finest gamers in your nation, or at the least among the many finest gamers in your province to have an opportunity to go professional.

If you’re already an grownup, you have to be on par with semi-professional or very superior gamers to have the ability to contemplate a profession in desk tennis.

When you’ve got the identical stage of semi-professional gamers and wish to pursue a profession in desk tennis, chances are high that you can be one of many “lower-tier” execs. You ought to be prepared to just accept that you’ll not earn as a lot cash as with different professions.

If you’re the very best participant in your nation or the second finest in your age group, or you’ll be able to compete in opposition to semi-pros with a lot much less coaching time, chances are high you’ll be able to develop into a mid to high-tier skilled participant and make good cash.

All this assuming you commit your time and efforts and do all the things to the very best of your skills.

Having stated all this, if you wish to pursue desk tennis, you don’t essentially need to be a participant.

You could be a good coach with out having been an expert participant, or you can begin ventures like promoting desk tennis tools. 

You too can develop into a desk tennis journalist, YouTuber, nutritionist, or kinesiologist for gamers, the chances are virtually countless. Numerous folks dwell from desk tennis with out being or having been professional gamers.

In conclusion, there may be work within the desk tennis space, however you need to be very dedicated and sure situations need to be met for it to be the appropriate possibility.

Within the overwhelming majority of circumstances, making an attempt to be an expert participant isn’t the very best concept.

For my part, desk tennis is way more pleasurable if it’s your interest slightly than your job.

Alvaro’s been taking part in Desk Tennis since he was 15 and is now ranked inside the prime 100 in his native Argentina. He likes to compete in provincial tournaments and is all the time on the lookout for methods to enhance. Alvaro made his favorite recollections with a racket in hand, and he joined the RacketInsight crew to share his ardour with different gamers!

Blade: Butterfly Fan Zhendong ALC | Forehand: Butterfly Dignics 05 | Backhand: Butterfly Rozena
Playstyle: The Controller