This is the bizarre reason that a British tennis player ranked number 719 in the world cannot claim his £66,000 prize money after qualifying for Wimbledon on Thursday.
Oliver Tarvet, 21, recorded the biggest win of his career as he edged past Belgian world number 144 Alexander Blockx, 6-3 3-6 6-2 6-1, in the final round of qualifying on Thursday.
His win means there will be 23 British players, 13 men and 10 women, in the singles draw when Wimbledon begins on 30 June, which is the most since 1984.
However, Tarvet, who hails from St Albans, Hertfordshire, will not be able to take home the majority of his £66,000 prize money.
But that has not deterred the Brit after he managed to qualify for his home Grand Slam for the first time.
Speaking after his match, he said: ‘There’s a lot of emotions, but the main one is just happiness. Ever since I was a little kid, it’s been my dream.’
This is the bizarre reason that a British tennis player ranked number 719 in the world can’t claim his prize money, which totals 66,000
It marked the Brit’s biggest win of his career as he won a best-of-five set match for the first time
He cannot claim most of his prize money as he currently plays on the US collegiate circuit and has one year remaining of his degree at the University of San Diego – and most college sports in the United States are amateur.
This is not the first time such an incident has occurred after a player had managed to qualify for the main draw at SW19.
Last year, Australian Maya Joint, who beat Emma Raducanu at Eastbourne earlier this week, forfeited more than $200,000 (£145,000) in prize money, after reaching the second round of the US Open while she was an amateur at the University of Texas.
Student athletes can claim up to $10,000 (£7,300) per year from any prize money, which they can use to put towards expenses and entrance fees.
Tarvet joked that he could subsequently afford to fly his coach home via private jet despite not being allowed to claim all of his prize money.
He added: ‘It’s a little bit awkward because I’ve got to find a lot of expenses and I really want to come back to University of San Diego to complete my fourth year.
‘What they’ve done for me is just incredible and I’m so grateful. I want to spend my fourth year there and really leave my mark on US history.
‘I can claim up to $10,000 so I might be flying my coach on a private jet at home.’
