Professional’s 1000 matches Club
If there is club that is very difficult to join or better said permitted to join, in Tennis, it is the ‘1000 matches club’. Membership is strictly by performance only and nothing else is considered. Just to say how difficult it is, two of the greatest exponents of the game, American Pete Sampras and Scandinavian Bjorn Borg do not have the membership. To be a member a player should have played 1000 professional circuit matches. In all of what Tennis has this could be considered the toughest marathon and could last fifteen grueling years . How tough it can be? – very demanding only eleven hold this exclusive membership!
The last player to get the membership is Rafael Nadal. He played his membership match against German Philip Kholschierber in Miami on the 26th of March 2017. We all know how long Nadal has been around and how his skills and physical ability has been tested. Among the professionals names which fades away well before the 1000th match is long. Some might even have just few matches short of requirement. For those in short of 1000 matches even by one – ‘sorry’ is the word as for their membership. Of course officially the club does not exit as a body. Then I have to say the club does exist as an identity of recognition.
The most astonishing thing about the rule is that, Bjorn Borg and Pete Sampras on record considered by many as the greatest two players missed the 1000 matches mark. Sampras missed it by 16 matches. His career win loss record of 762 and 222 is 16 matches short of 1000. Bjorn Borg with 609 wins and 127 losses has total of only 736 matches. These could be the most talked about piece of gossip among 1000 match club members.
Who are these tough guys
The membership is somewhat a mission impossible. Each member would have at least ten years input as a professional players. In that period of time their name would have got etched on stone. So there can be no incognitos here.
Leading the pack of eleven is Jimmy Connors. He has played 1535 matches in his career. His last great performance was when he was 39 years of age. He had his own style on court and off court. In a recent interview he has stated that that he played and lived in his own terms. Having followed his career I will not hesitate to believe this statement of his. Connors being a very tough competitor believed in winning only. For him nothing else was was the goal when it came to Tennis.
The other members of the club are Roger Federer 1340 matches and still very much there, Ivan Lendl 1310, Guillermo Vilas 1215, Andre Agassi 1144, Ille Nastase 1085, John McEnroe 1075, Stefan Edberg 1071, David Ferrer 1034 still there and Brian Gottfried with 1009.
Millionaires Club
I doubt that any player would have reached the 1000 matches mark before Jimmy Connors time. There were not that many events in the world to achieve this feat then. That is before 1972. Taking the time span between Connors playing his first professional match in 1972 and Nadal playing his 1000th match in March 2017, it is 45 years. In 45 years only eleven were able to achieve 1000 matches mark. Conservatively in this period at least 150 fifty players would have entered the top 200 ranking bracket every year. On a rough calculation only eleven have achieved 1000 matches mark out of a number close to 7000 players in forty five years. The total number of professionals in this period would be close to one hundred thousand or more. So eleven is very exclusive indeed.
Their prize money earning of these eleven players would have exceeded US $5 million then. Now with prize money being big this figure would be around US $80 millions in ten years. This does not including endorsements which are often bigger than prize money. That makes it an exclusive millionaires club.
I could say apart from winning titles all the time hanging in to achieve 1000 matches would also make player rich. I am sure many players take this attitude. In this manner players do not have to punish the body and destroy it. With ATP advising as to how the prize money should be distributed in events to organizers even a regular qualifier into the main round will be above the profit line money wise. Still 1000 matches is a lot of matches and even by today’s event availability it would take a good ten years.
All top tenners
Often we hear of a teenage age group hero. Where are they? In open Tennis they become zeros. It is a frightening syndrome that has gripped most of the developing nations. The chances of playing 1000 professional matches in a career is only possible if a player is an accomplished exponent of the game. From what I see all 1000 matches club members have been in the top ten ranking for a considerable length of time. Fame in Tennis is not only winning many titles but also lasting. To last is the most difficult in sports. These eleven members deserve to be venerated.
–George Paldano, Former intl. player; Accredited Coach of Germany; National, Davis-Cup, Federation Cup captain/coach-geodano@gmail.com