The British amateur tennis player Oliver Tarvet is contemplating a significant declaration after his fairy tale at Wimbledon in order to still collect his prize money in full. Only in this way does the student think he can comply with the rules of his university.
The 21-year-old Tarvet survived the qualifiers and booked a victory over the Swiss Leandro Riedi in the first round on Monday, which already guarantees him 90,000 pounds (about 115,000 euros) in prize money. The communication student is not allowed to keep that amount entirely to himself.
Students at the University of San Diego are allowed to make a maximum profit of $10,000 annually if they earn money with their sport as an amateur. They are allowed to deduct the necessary expenses from the prize money earned.
Tarvet, who faces a dream match against defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the second round, thinks he will be doing some creative accounting in the coming period so as not to have to give everything to his university at the end of the year. Normally he only plays college tennis.
“I will do everything I can to find an x amount of expenses, so that I remain below $10,000 in profit,” he said after his victory in the first round. “I now have to find 60,000 or 70,000 pounds in expenses. Tennis is an expensive sport, so hopefully that will work.”
‘Maybe I should pay my coaches more’
Tarvet, who is 733rd in the world rankings, joked after reaching the Wimbledon main tournament that he would go home on a private jet. “But maybe I should just pay my coaches some extra. I don’t know. We’ll figure something out.”
Despite all the hassles, Tarvet has no intention of ending his studies and becoming a professional tennis player. “What the university has done for me is just unbelievable,” he said earlier. “I am so grateful to them.”
A match against two-time Wimbledon winner Alcaraz is a dream come true. “I came here without expectations. I secretly have confidence that I can win against anyone. Alcaraz is no exception to that.”
Tarvet and Alcaraz will face each other in London on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, Alcaraz had to work overtime against Fabio Fognini to reach the second round at Wimbledon. He only won after five sets.