Wimbledon hero Oliver Tarvet hopes to find an inventive way to keep his prize money
Oliver Tarvet is in danger of losing all of his Wimbledon prize money after his stunning run to the second round, but he is dreaming up an inventive way to solve the problem.
After coming through qualifying and beating Leandro Riedi, he is now set for a clash against defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the second round.
Tarvet has created one of the feel-good stories of 2025, but the £99,000 he should be collecting in prize money may not be coming his way.
As he is planning to go back to university in San Diego for his final year, the current rules of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), which runs college sports, require players to stay amateur.
Tarvet can claim $10,000 (approximately £7,300) as well as the expenses he has incurred during the tournament, and he hopes he can find a way to keep most of his winnings.
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“I will try and do everything I can to make that work out and to find X amount of expenses so I’m under $10,000 of profit,” said Tarvet.
“Something I got to figure out. Maybe I hire someone to help me out with the expenses, make sure the NCAA are happy. As I said, it’s very important for me. I have a lot of goals at USD still.
“By December, I need to show profit or prize money minus expenses equals less than $10,000.
“I don’t know how much I made. I think I made, like, it’s £99,000 or £100,000. Obviously, that’s before tax. I’ve got to find £60,000, £70,000 of expenses, which tennis is an expensive sport. So, hopefully, I can make that happen.”
Tarvet believes there will be a way around the problem, as he is looking into expanding his expenses claim, that will need to be sizeable to navigate this issue.
“The NCAA have introduced this thing called NIL. It’s abbreviated for Name, Image and Likeness,” he stated.
“Brands can sponsor you as a person in your personal image. I had some sponsorship (against Riedi) with TK Maxx, I think, and Clearpay.
“The contract was in alignment with the NIL, I don’t know, criteria. So I was able to keep that money and not write it off as an expense, not need to write it off as an expense.
“Obviously, the NCAA want to play players, but they want to keep amateur status at the same time.
“They’re doing their best so we can put money in our back pocket because, obviously, tennis, as I said is an expensive sport. And once you go pro, it’s great not to be reaching into your parents’ pockets.
“So yeah, there’s two things to college. NIL and the prize money, which you need to write off as an expense.”
Tarvet is relishing the challenge of taking on Alcaraz on Wednesday and he is daring to believe the ultimate dream result could still be in his grasp.
“As a kid, it’s what you dream of. I came here when I was a little kid. It’s what you work for. Obviously, it’s a pretty long-term goal,” he added.”
“For it to happen so suddenly has been really special. I’m quietly confident that I can win against anyone. Alcaraz isn’t an exception to that. Obviously, he’s done an incredible amount in the tennis world. He’s a difficult guy not to respect.
“Just go out there and try and treat it like another match. At the end of the day, for me, I try and play the ball, not the player. Obviously, it’s going to be pretty special playing against Alcaraz, potentially, and potentially on a pretty big court.
“Just try and not let the moment get too big. Just go out there and play my brand of tennis.”
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