Tennis: New Zealand’s top-ranked player Kiranpal Pannu’s career is in jeopardy and in desperate need of money

The career of New Zealand’s best tennis player could be cut short due to a lack of financial support.

Kiranpal (KP) Pannu, 27, is currently living paycheck to paycheck on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tour as he tries to improve his rankings.

Pannu told the Herald that it has become the norm to take shortcuts and organize his tournament schedule around what he can and cannot afford.

“I can’t travel with my coach; I can’t play the schedule I want to; I try to play in cheaper parts of the world,” he said.

He is even forced to decide whether to restring his racket before a match or persevere.

“That saves me $15-$20 dollars USD, but then the strings break (halfway through the match).”

Pannu became the country’s No. 1 player in May after surpassing Ajeet Rai and Rubin Statham in singles ranking points. He has also earned the local wildcard to Auckland’s ASB Classic at the last two tournaments.

On Monday (NZT) he won the Men’s $15,000 Santo Domingo ITF, beating China’s Fnu Nidunjianzan 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 in the final. The result saw him reach his ATP career-high singles rankings and enter the top 500 in the world.

Despite the ideal outcome, Pannu chose this particular tournament in the Dominican Republic because it was affordable, as he found an Airbnb for $30 per night.

While the mental strains of finances dictate his schedule, Pannu said he could continue touring for a few more years but would be scraping his teeth.

The Wellington native hoped the achievement of becoming New Zealand’s number one could serve as leverage, making him more marketable for sponsorship opportunities.

“I just want to try to find partnerships and things like that outside of the court to really help fund the operation and maybe make it a little less stressful living paycheck to paycheck,” he continued.

“This is the first time I’ve been New Zealand’s No. 1 and I’ve asked my dad to help me (find a sponsor), and I’ve been reaching out to people, but it’s just so hard.”

Pannu does not blame the governing body, Tennis New Zealand (TNZ), for the position he finds himself in, but acknowledges that it is because the sport is not profitable in this country.

“We have the ASB Classic once a year and they (TNZ) don’t even have full ownership of it.”

He also believes the success of Kiwi tennis is much more complex than funding, especially due to the country’s sheer isolation.

“We are so far from Europe, Asia, North America, South America, anywhere,” he explained.

“We have Australia close by, which is great. They have a Grand Slam and they are very profitable. Tennis Australia makes a lot of money and does great things for the sport, so we’re lucky in that respect.

“But just to say it’s about financing: it’s much more complex than that. The main reason is that it is so difficult logistically.

“If you look at all the top players in the world and where they played growing up and how they did it, it’s not possible to follow the same route as a Kiwi.

“As a 12-year-old you have to spend six months a year in Europe, which is tough.”

“(New Zealanders) definitely have an uphill battle.”

Julie Paterson, CEO of TNZ, told the Herald, that it is well documented worldwide how difficult it can be to break through to a level where players can make a comfortable living playing professional tennis.

“Tennis is an expensive sport to participate in, requiring extensive travel to compete for ranking points,” Paterson said.

“New Zealand players are particularly disadvantaged by their relative distance to the Northern Hemisphere, where most events are played.”

Pannu does not meet the criteria for TNZ’s Targeted Athlete program and he is not one of the two male players receiving financial support from High Performance Sport New Zealand.

Patterson said the Targeted Athlete criteria is based on their strategic goal of having top 100 singles players and uses established data – primarily world rankings at different ages – to determine who meets the criteria.

“Instead, we are supporting him and our other top players through our Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup national team programs,” said Patterson.

Pannu says unless he can find more money or a sponsor, he won’t be able to cover the costs until he is good enough to play in the Grand Slam qualifiers, but reveals this is within reach.

“I’m just now in the top 500 (and) to reach the Grand Slam qualifications I have to reach about 250.

“I still have work to do, but I’m not far away.”

But of course he would like to go further: reach the top 50 and participate in a Grand Slam.

“I will be very satisfied and proud of myself when I can sit back at 45 and say, ‘wow, I’ve reached my ceiling’.”

Bonnie Jansen is a multimedia journalist on the NZME sports team. She is a football commentator and co-host of the Football fever podcast. She is equally passionate about women’s sport and was part of the Te Rito cadetship program before becoming a full-time journalist.