“The people you pay are not your friends”: Bigger prize money led to more loneliness on Tour according to Andrea Petkovic

Andrea Petkovic referred to the ‘downside’ of the increase in prize money over the years. The former top-10 player commented that as players have been able to afford increasingly large work teams, the loneliness they experience is greater as they interact less with their colleagues.

Petkovic spoke from her own experience in her career, in which the monetary conditions forced the players to share buses, rooms, and coaches, strengthening the friendship between the players.

However, currently players are more often seen with their own work teams, where there can easily be four or five members working as coaches, physiotherapists, kinesiologists, etc.

"The increase in prize money unfortunately has a downside," said the former French Open semifinalist. "At the beginning of my career, we still shared coaches and traveled in groups with other players, sleeping three to a room to save money, stealing ham and cheese from breakfast buffets and forming lifelong friendships.”

“The increase in team size has also increased loneliness on the tour. The people you pay are not your friends. I repeat: the people you pay are not your friends. It may seem like it and you may end up being friends, but as long as there is a power dynamic related to pay, there is no equality and a friendship is not a true friendship if there is no equality.”

“When players travel with physiotherapists, coaches, psychologists and trainers, they are surrounded by people they pay and who occupy the space needed for a true friendship. A friendship where your friend doesn't have to worry about losing their job if they tell you that skirt doesn't look good on you."

Several players have shown a close relationship with their work teams, such as Carlos Alcaraz or Aryna Sabalenka, displaying a great connection beyond what they do on the court.