World No.719 Oliver Tarvet pulled off a major upset to reach the Wimbledon main draw – but the Brit will be forced to sacrifice almost all of his £66,000 prize money.
After two wins earlier in the week, Tarvet shocked World No.144 Alexander Blockx in the final round of qualifying on Thursday to book his spot in the first round at SW19.
The 21-year-old becomes the first male Brit since Alex Ward in 2017 to come through qualifying at Roehampton, and means there are now 23 British players in the men’s and women’s singles draw at Wimbledon next week.
A spot in the first round at Wimbledon comes with a lucrative reward, with each participant guaranteed £66,000 even if they lose.
However, the Brit will unfortunately be forced to hand back the overwhelming majority of that prize money due to his amateur status.
Currently attending the University of San Diego, Tarvet is only allowed to claim up to $10,000 (£7,300) per year from any prize money as a college athlete, which can only go towards expenses and entrance fees.
But while he has to forgo large swathes of his prize money, Tarvet has already come up with a clever plan to ensure he gets the most out of his remaining £7,3000 reward.
‘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,’ Tarvet said.
‘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.’
The full list of British players in Wimbledon’s main draw
Men’s draw
Jack Draper, Jacob Fearnley, Cameron Norrie, Billy Harris, Jay Clarke, Oliver Crawford, Dan Evans, Arthur Fery, George Loffhagen, Johannus Monday, Jack Pinnington Jones, Henry Searle, Oliver Tarvet.
Women’s draw
Emma Raducanu, Katie Boulter, Sonay Kartal, Jodie Burrage, Harriet Dart, Fran Jones, Hannah Klugman, Mika Stojsavljevic, Heather Watson, Mimi Xu.
Despite his lowly professional ranking, Tarvet has already racked up an impressive resume as a collegiate player and was ranked inside the top five for Division One singles players in this year’s NCAA Championships.
On the accomplishment of qualifying for his first Grand Slam, he added: ‘There’s a lot of emotions but the main one is just happiness. There is a lot of work that’s gone into getting where I am today.
‘A lot of people who have worked hard to help me not only get through this qualification but the last year, two years. It’s something that doesn’t happen too often so when you can enjoy it, I feel like it’s important to do it.
‘Ever since I was a little kid, going to the Championships when you are nine, seeing the pros.
‘It’s always been a big dream of mine and especially being from Britain it’s just a dream come true and I am just really, really happy to be part of it.’
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