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Side-hustles, self-doubt and $50k on travel costs alone: What life is REALLY like for a tennis player trying to qualify for the US Open
A shriek sounds out around court No 4 at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. A forehand volley down the line has drifted out and, for Gabriela Knutson, another game has slipped by.
She trails by a set and a break and - now at 5-2 in the second - the world No 185 needs a miracle. Knutson is playing at the US Open for the very first time but her grand slam hopes already hang by a thread - nearly a week before fans flood through the gates of Flushing Meadows.
The 27-year-old is one of 128 women competing for 16 spots in the main draw - and a chance to earn a chunk of the 'largest purse in tennis history'. This year's singles champions will receive $3.6million; a first-round defeat will still earn players $100,000.
First, though, Knutson must come through three rounds of qualifying. Even to reach round one, she has had to overcome self-doubt and dig deep into her own pockets. The California born, Czechia raised up-and-comer has made $122,758 so far this year. Nearly half of that has disappeared already in taxes and in pursuit of this self-funded dream.
Her route to Flushing Meadows involved a stop-off in North Carolina for a pre-US Open tournament. That meant buying a flight from Prague to Cary and then a flight to New York. That meant paying for hotels in both North Carolina and the Big Apple. Plus food, plus baggage fees - for herself, and her younger brother/travel coach Dominik. That added up to around $5,000 alone.
Gabriela Knutson spoke to DailyMail.com about her life as a pro tennis player on lower circuits
All this came as she was getting ready to play in her fourth ever grand slam qualifier
All to reach one of the biggest stages in tennis. This is the reality of life in the shadows of Arthur Ashe Stadium. Knutson has spent the past two seasons on the ITF tour, which is costly enough that she has taken a job working in social media for a tennis company in Texas.
Knutson is exploring the possibility of doing a six-tournament swing in the United States between mid-September and mid-November. The only issue? Paying for hotels and flights and rental cars and food and treatment and shoes and racket stringing will cost about $25,600.
Should she decide to hire a full-time coach, the cost of that swing would spiral towards $50,000. That wouldn't be quite as daunting if Knutson knew that investment would pay off.
Unfortunately, there are no guarantees. On the ITF tour, prize money ranges from a few hundred dollars - for losing in the early rounds - to several thousands if she makes a final.
Knutson has tried to shed light on the reality of life on tour through social media. But she still feels there's an assumption that professional tennis players are automatically rolling in cash.
'It's an absolute farce that we're at a grand slam level, and I still cannot afford to have a coach and afford a place to live. I can have one now, but I cannot have both,' she explains to DailyMail.com. When back home in Prague, Knutson lives with her uncle.
'I wouldn't be complaining if it was known. That's why I wanted to just raise awareness with the Instagrams, especially, and the TikToks. I didn't want to complain whatsoever. We're all happy to be here.
'It's just people think that we live incredible lives and make so much money. And that's why I just wanted the narrative to be: "No, we actually are struggling financially."'
Knutson is considering doing a six-tournament swing in the United States which costs $26k
To help make ends meet, Knutson has taken up a job working in social media
Knutson has used her platform to raise awareness of the struggles of players on the circuit
It's not just about the money, though. There's also the constant loneliness of life on the road. Knutson would love the ITF to have more tournaments in Europe. Not just to keep her costs down. But so she can have more time to see family and friends and build relationships.
'I can never go visit anyone because I have no concept of my schedule, ever. I don't know what I'm doing next week. It's just crazy,' she says.
'You cannot plan with a boyfriend, you cannot plan with a friend, you cannot plan anything. It's really wild for people that are close to me to really understand that, because they're like, "What do you mean you have no free weekends?" I'm like, "No, I have free weekends. I just never know when they're going to be."
'Any relationship is impossible, even with other people on tour, because they're also going on tour a lot. So you can't really have that either. It's only the option if you find a good base and you have a relationship and friends there... because you do spend a about 75 percent on the road, and then the rest, you're training. And then you have about two weeks, maybe four, scattered throughout the year that you have off.'
It doesn't help that Knutson took an unconventional route to getting to the pro tour. She first picked up a racket aged 2 and moved to the Czechia at 12 where her training became more intense.
It wasn't until she reached college that she felt able to truly prioritize something other than tennis. Rather than go to one of the more elite tennis schools in the United States, she forged a path for herself at Syracuse University, where she was ranked as high as fourth in the nation her senior year.
Knutson said that she attended Syracuse University with no intentions of turning pro
But after her academic pursuits, she decided to give the pro circuit a try - at age 26
'I went to Syracuse for the academics, and that was 100 percent the path that I was on. Just zero thought in my mind that I would play pro after. Anytime I was asked, I was like, "I don't want to". I don't want to be alone on tour. I don't want to have no money.
'Also, I didn't really think I was good enough, which was stupid. I think at that point I knew I was (good enough), but I really didn't want to do it.'
After graduating with a degree in journalism, Knutson headed to Durham University in England. She studied for a masters in marketing and then another in renewable energy. All while playing and then coaching tennis at the school during the pandemic.
Knutson then pursued - and earned - a Fulbright scholarship, which would have seen her study in Germany before publishing a book in the US on wind turbines.
Around the same time, however, she was training at the University of Nottingham and played in two tournaments - reaching the semifinals in both. Suddenly the urge to play bit her again. So, aged 26, she went pro and turned down the scholarship.
'I was emailing the people, and they're like, "Why would you do this? Aren't you a bit old to go pro in a sport?" But then, I emailed them all when I made the Australian Open, I was like, "Look, I made it. It was worth it."'
This year's US Open was the fourth grand slam qualifier of Knutson's career - with all four coming this year. A heartbreaking third-set tiebreak defeat in Australia was followed up with a first round exit at Roland Garros and a second-round Wimbledon defeat by eventual quarterfinalist Lulu Sun.
Knutson with her brother Dominik after winning an ITF tournament in Portugal this year
Knutson and two friends of hers after her qualifier match at the US Open on August 20
Then, at Flushing Meadows, Knutson was drawn against No 9 seed Eva Lys of Germany, a 22-year-old over 70 spots higher than her in the WTA rankings.
A few dozen fans watched as she lost the first set 6-2 before battling back to send the second set to a tiebreak. Unfortunately the world No 185 was eventually beaten 7-4.
'I was very nervous,' she admitted. 'But I'm proud of myself in the second set how I really fought back... I'm very pleased with how I handled it, even the loss, how I kept fighting, how my attitude was.'
Knutson's US Open adventure was over by Tuesday morning - two days before the world's top players learnt their fate for round one. She will be back next year, hoping to go at least three steps further on her journey to the top.
'I was not playing for seven years. It's a long time to not work on any technique to do fitness in a tennis way. I've made a lot of strides in my game in the last two years. I had to learn many things just to get where I am now, and especially at an age that I wasn't exactly young,' she says.
'I sometimes forget that when I'm at these tournaments and I'm around all these people that are so good, and then you start comparing yourself to them when nobody has done what I did.'