The name Karue Sell (30 years old) probably doesn’t mean anything to you. The Brazilian, ranked 907th in the world less than a year ago, entered the top 300 at the beginning of the week thanks to a record-breaking season. The athlete is currently making headlines because he called out the PTPA, the players’ association founded by Novak Djokovic, on X about the financial situation of Tennis players ranked outside the top 100.
Her post has been viewed by over 300,000 people. “Today I entered the top 300 for the first time. However, I would make more money working at McDonald’s,” Karue Sell wrote. The post was accompanied by a screenshot of her ATP profile showing that her earnings were $25,638 since the beginning of the year. That’s an average of $2,848 per month.
His career earnings amount to $61,183 for four full seasons on the circuit (2017, 2018, 2023 and 2024). If Karue Sell manages to make ends meet, it is because he runs a YouTube channel dedicated to tennis which has 143,000 subscribers.
“I’m doing well because of my online business,” he added. “But I feel sorry for my peers. The level is so high now. I’m not saying players should be making millions, but right now they’re getting ripped off all over the place. There’s money. I’d like to see real change (by identifying the PTPA).”
He also highlights the fact that players earn fewer ATP points on the challenger circuit, a hindrance to their progression in the world hierarchy. “This was done without the players being informed,” he regrets.
Karue Sell received a response from Ahmad Nassar, the executive director of the PTPA. “We are working on it and will keep you updated. Basically, the whole system is rigged. Tennis players cannot unionize under the law right now because they are independent contractors. We have looked at the entire tennis ecosystem with a team of experts. Change is coming,” he promises.
