AMATEUR star Oliver Tarvet can claim his £99,000 Wimbledon prize money in “actual necessary expenses over the course of a calendar year”.
On Wednesday, the world No.733 from St Albans will play Carlos Alcaraz, the two-time defending champion, in the second round.
It is an incredible underdog story and were he to win, as improbably as they may sound, then it would be the biggest upset in the competition’s history.
Tarvet has an interesting background and is a part-time player because he studies at the University of San Diego.
The 21-year-old, who gets no support from the LTA, is entering his senior year where he is majoring in Communications with a minor in Marketing.
Alongside his education, he has been able to play thousands of tennis matches in a collegiate-style system.
Under National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rules, Tarvet is not allowed to take winnings from competitions outside of the college set-up.
Yet according to his coach, he is able to claim back plentiful expenses, which would cover his accommodation and travel costs, plus those for his coaches.
Ryan Keckley, head of men’s tennis at the University of San Diego, landed in the UK via Chicago at 6am on Monday, just in time to watch his star pupil win the opening match against fellow qualifier Leandro Riedi from Switzerland.
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Still suffering from jet lag, Keckley said: “There’s an outdated bylaw of the NCAA, probably two or three years old, of the ‘$10,000 rule’.
“But there have been so many changes of how you can get money into people’s back pockets.
“One of the changes that took place is you are allowed actual necessary expenses over the course of a calendar year. As long as you have the expenses to show, then all good.
“So say he played a tournament in June and he flew there. It’s 1000 bucks and the hotel is another 1000 bucks. And the meals are another 1000 bucks.
“That’s $3,000 expenses. Then he goes and plays another tournament, another tournament, another tournament. Four tournaments.
“Times 3000 by four and that’s $12,000 he can offset his expenses by. Put a coach on that for $2000-4000 a week. That adds up.
“What every college player has to do is work through that, until the NCAA kind of rights the ship. But that’s going to be a work in progress.
“No profit. It’s all actual and necessary expenses.
“In my opinion, Oli has proven himself worthy of any candidate here. And that’s the beauty about sport, you just never know.
“Do I think he has the capability of going out there and beating Alcaraz? Absolutely, because every challenge that we put in front of him, he’s done sensational.”
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