Also called: Touring Tennis Pro
Competes in professional tennis tournaments around the world.
A tennis pro travels almost year-round chasing ranking points, often paying for their own coach and flights. Days are practice, fitness, matches, and recovery. Only the top ~100 players earn big money.
Estimate. Players ranked outside the top 200 often lose money after travel and coaching costs; top-100 players earn $1M+ in prize money.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
High school diploma, about 0 years after high school. Most athletes start as kids and compete through high school and college; no degree is required, though many earn one. Some play college tennis first.
Ways in: On-the-job training, Self-taught. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Kinesiology, Business.
Growing faster than average (about 5% over 10 years). BLS projects 5% growth for all athletes and sports competitors (2024-34), but roster spots in each league are nearly fixed, so competition is extreme.
Low risk for 10 years. AI ball-tracking and analytics help training; competing stays human, but only the top ~100 earn a good living.
Classes: Weight training PE, Foreign language, Health and nutrition.
Official data: O*NET occupation 27-2021.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.