5 of the Best Tennis Jobs for Fans

You don’t need to be a pro athlete to build a career in tennis. There’s a range of different tennis jobs for both newcomers and seasoned experts that will allow you to make money doing what you love. Like all sports jobs, they also give you a chance to work in a dynamic industry that, unlike so many others, is continually growing.

Top Tennis Jobs to Consider

1. Tennis Coaching Jobs

Working directly with athletes as a coach is one of the most appealing pro tennis jobs. Just understand that NCAA tennis jobs are not the only tennis coaching jobs you might pursue. After all, if you don’t have significant experience, it won’t be easy to begin working with an NCAA star right away.

However, you can start in an assistant capacity at a university or an amateur league. Many rewarding tennis coaching jobs involve helping a head coach outside of the NCAA with their duties. Although you’ll still likely need some experience playing tennis to reasonably expect to secure such a job. If you do, you may be able to work your way up the ladder, eventually becoming eligible for NCAA tennis jobs (if that’s your goal).

2. Tennis Instructor

Tennis instructor jobs are similar to tennis coaching jobs in that they give you a chance to work directly with tennis players, helping them develop their skills. That said, there are some key differences that might make pursuing a job as a tennis instructor more appealing to you.

First of all, while this type of tennis job does still require you to have enough experience playing tennis that you can demonstrate you know how to teach it, you may not need to network as aggressively to become a tennis instructor instead of a coach. On top of that, while coaching college and pro tennis players can be a very rewarding experience, some tennis coaches find it can also be stressful. Those playing at the university or pro level put themselves under a lot of pressure to perform. Therefore, their relationship with their coaches can become strained when they don’t perform according to their own expectations.

That’s less likely to happen if you’re a tennis instructor. Because you’ll most likely be working with amateurs, they won’t be as stressed about performing well.

3. Behind-the-Scenes Tennis Jobs

Keep in mind that many NCAA tennis jobs and university tennis jobs don’t need to involve working with players at all. Like all major sports organizations, the NCAA relies on marketers, PR experts, and even sports psychologists/counselors to ensure the league succeeds. 

Additionally, some pro sports jobs involve facilitating major tennis matches. For example, maybe you want to know how to get a job in Wimbledon. You could start by getting a job working with the event coordinator or facilities management teams for other tennis events. If you work hard, maybe you’ll eventually grow your career to the point where you can also fill Wimbledon jobs that involve making sure this major tennis event goes off without a hitch.

4. Tennis Equipment Sales/Manufacture

Like many pro athletes, tennis players rely on the right equipment to succeed on the court. That’s why many tennis lovers find supplying that equipment to be surprisingly rewarding.

There are many ways you could pursue this type of tennis job. You could work in the sales department of a sports equipment or tennis specialty shop, learning enough over the years to eventually manage and/or open a shop of your own in the future. Or, you might work with a company that designs and manufactures tennis equipment, helping to create the finely-calibrated tools tennis pros need.

5. Tennis Reporter or Journalist

You’re reading a blog about the best tennis jobs because you most likely love tennis. That means you also probably know a lot about it and enjoy talking about the sport.

Therefore, you may want to cover it as a reporter or journalist. Even if you don’t have journalism experience yet, you could create your own tennis blog, using it to impress editors who may hire you in the future.

Just remember, these are merely a few tennis jobs worth considering. Whether you’re pursuing NCAA jobs, temporary jobs at Wimbledon, or any other job in sports, options are abundant.